Rebecca Skloot's The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks won the £25,000 (US$40,381) Wellcome Trust Book Prize, which honors an outstanding work of fiction or nonfiction on the theme of health and medicine.
"This
is an engaging account of the life of Henrietta Lacks who died in
Baltimore nearly 60 years ago and the immortal life of her cancer cells,
which continue to replicate in research laboratories around the world
to this day," said chair of the judging panel Clive Anderson. "There are
several stories to be told: the changing attitudes and ethics of the
medical profession; the economics of healthcare; and the successes and
slip ups of modern scientific methods. In addition, the book reveals the
human story of Henrietta Lacks' family, who the author got to know in
the course of her extensive research. A worthy winner of a prize
designed to honor fine writing on a medical theme."
Clare
Matterson, Wellcome Trust's director of medical humanities and
engagement added: "It's wonderful that the prize has been awarded to a
book that was such a labour of love for its author. Rebecca Skloot's
work absolutely meets the objective of this prize. It has something of
everything--a compelling science story, an emotional personal story and
intriguing ethical dilemmas--and all woven together and written with
great style."
The shortlist included Grace Williams Says it Loud by Emma Henderson, Medic: Saving lives--from Dunkirk to Afghanistan by John Nichol and Tony Rennell, Teach Us to Sit Still by Tim Parks, So Much for That by Lionel Shriver and Angel of Death: The Story of Smallpox by Gareth Williams.