This book was an incredible testament of faith. I'm glad that the author reported it as it was; although clearly not committed to a religious faith, she cannot help but be swept up by the Lacks family's faith. It is one of the charms of the book.

This is a great question and Diane L. answers it so well above. Somehow the faith of the Lacks family iluminates all that is good in the scientific story, and what is admirable in the history of the Lacks family. Deborah's costant intuiton of her mother's presence reminds us over and over of Henrietta's humanity and her dignity--and the love mother and daughter had for each other.

Religious faith and scientific understanding, while often at odds with each other, play important roles in the lives of the Lacks family. How does religious faith help frame the Lacks' response to and interpretation of the scientific information they receive about HeLa? How does Skloot's attitude towards religious faith and science evolve as a result of her relationship with the Lackses?