This February marks the 10th anniversary of Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. This non-fiction book was translated into more than 25 languages, spent 75 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, awarded the National Academies Best Book of the Year, won the Heartland Prize for non-fiction, and was named a 100 New York Times Notable Books of the Year. It has garnered praise from multiple media outlets including Oprah, NPR, and Entertainment Weekly. On top of it all, it became a television movie in 2017 by HBO starring Oprah Winfrey, Rose Byrne, and Renée Elise Goldsberry.

The book is about a woman named Henrietta Lacks and her contribution to medicine. Her cancer cells made the immortal cell line known as HeLa in 1951. These immortal cells have grown in culture and are still alive today, despite Lacks’ passing.

A Brief Summary

Skloot tells the story of Lacks and how her family didn’t learn of her “immortality” until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists looked into her husband and children for research without informed consent. Through the relationships Skloot develops with Lack’s family, she showcases the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, how bioethics began, and the legal battles that ensued towards the morals and compensation of the practice.

Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with cervical cancer in the 1950s. Through her treatment for cancer, doctors isolated what would be the first “immortal cells.”

These cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine, uncovering secrets of cancer and viruses, and even learning about the atom bomb’s effects. It also led to advances such as in-vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping.

Today, scientists still use HeLa cells to better understand how to battle viruses such as HIV, herpes, Zika, measles, mumps, and more. By reproducing HeLa cells, they are able to infect the cells with different viruses and learn how they work and grow. Every day they get one step closer to finding a new treatment or vaccine.

In honor of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 10th anniversary on February 2nd, here are some books featuring other stories of strong women and how their footprint on earth have helped those who came after them:

Wave Woman* by Vicky Heldreich Durand

This intimate biography is the untold story of a woman named Betty Pembroke Heldreich. At middle age, she decided to follow her dream of living near the ocean. She packed up her life and moved to Hawaii, where she took up surfing and started surfing competitively. She was one of the first women to compete and win first place in Lima Peru.

This story will resonate to all women looking for self-confidence and a purpose. It highlights that it is never too late to change your path.

Trouble the Water by Jacqueline Friedland

When Abigail Milton’s family runs into debt, she goes to America to live with a widower who wants nothing to do with her. Working as a governess, she overhears her benefactor Douglas Elling planning the escape of a local slave. Suddenly everything she thought she knew turns upside down.

This book is a captivating tale about Charleston’s aristocratic planter class, American slavery, and the Underground Railroad. The main character’s actions will no doubt enrich the readers.

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

This is the phenomenal true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA whose calculations were vital in America’s achievements in space. It is a major motion picture starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kirsten Dunst, and Kevin Costner. It follows four women who contributed to some of NASA’s biggest successes and details their challenges, intellect, and drive.

Code Girls by Liza Mundy

This New York Times bestseller tells the story about the American women who secretly served as codebreakers during World War II. Their efforts helped shorten the war and save many lives. It also gave them a chance to enter careers that were once denied to them.

This book shines a light on history that people may not have heard in school. It was researched thoroughly from yearbooks, scrapbooks, recruiting pamphlets, newspapers, personal letters, and alumnae records that many colleges maintain. This once-secret story comes to life in Liza Mundy’s showcase of women who worked courageously and fervently.

*not out yet, but available for preorder now