T
ime and time again, I saw people energized by the story of Henrietta and her
cells—energized, and filled with the desire to do something to show their thanks for her contri-
bution to science, and make amends to her family. Many of those people put that energy into
helping me with this book. My gratitude goes out to everyone who devoted time, knowledge,
money, and heart to this project. I do not have room to name all of you here, but I could not
have written this book without you.
First and foremost, I owe endless thanks to Henrietta Lacks’s family.
Deborah was the soul of this book—her spirit, her laughter, her pain, her determination,
and her unbelievable strength were an inspiration that helped keep me working all these
years. I feel deeply honored to have been part of her life.
I thank Lawrence and Zakariyya for their trust and their stories, and Sonny, for seeing the
value of this project and being its backbone within the family. I thank him for his honesty, his
never-ending optimism, and for believing I could and would write this book.
Deborah’s grandsons, Davon and Alfred, were incredibly supportive of Deborah’s quest to
learn about her mother and her sister. I thank them for keeping us laughing and for answering
my many questions. Bobbette Lacks, a strong woman who has helped hold the Lacks family
together for decades, put up with hours of interviews and many requests for documents, and
she never held back when it came to sharing her stories. I’m grateful to Sonny’s ever-reliable
daughter, Jeri Lacks-Whye, who tracked down facts and photos, and often wrangled her big
extended family on my behalf. I thank her and her mother, Shirley Lacks, as well as
Lawrence’s granddaughters Erika Johnson and Court-nee Simone Lacks, and Deborah’s son,
Alfred Carter Jr., for their openness and enthusiasm. James Pullum’s support was unwaver-
ing; I thank him for his stories, his laughter, and his prayers. The same is true for Gary Lacks,
who sang beautiful hymns into my telephone voice mail, and never failed to serenade me on
my birthday.
Re-creating the life of Henrietta Lacks wouldn’t have been possible without the generous
help of her family, friends, and neighbors, particularly Fred Garret, Howard Grinnan, Hector
“Cootie” Henry, Ben Lacks, Carlton Lacks, David “Day” Lacks Sr., Emmett Lacks, Georgia