Answer:
Skloot first learned about Henrietta when a biology professor passingly mentioned her during a lecture about the importance and impact of the HeLa cell line. While the lecturer’s focus was on the scientific achievements and medical breakthroughs Henrietta’s cells facilitated, Skloot was drawn to the woman herself, who was she? Did she know how important her cells were? What about her family? The professor didn’t have any answers for Skloot, and this fueled her interest even further. The desire to learn about Henrietta resulted in a decade-long research project, one that drew in Henrietta’s family, the institutions who took advantage of Henrietta, and the numerous scientists who used her cells. The end product of Skloot’s research, interviews, and investigation is the book.
