The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

This chapter recounts events from 1951-1965. After Henrietta’s death, her eldest son, Lawrence, is drafted for military service, and the three younger children—who have not been told what happened to their mother—are looked after by their cousin Galen and his wife, Ethel. Their new caretakers subject them to years of physical and emotional abuse. Their father either does not notice or turns a blind eye. It is not until 1959, when Deborah is 10, that things begin to improve, as the three children go to live with Lawrence and his new wife, Bobbette, who loves them as if they were her own.

However, Galen is sexually abusing Deborah and continues to manipulate her, even though she no longer lives with him. Eventually, Deborah tells Bobbette, who tells her firmly that cousins should not sleep with each other: “I know your mother and father and all the cousins all mingled together in their own way, but don’t you ever do it, Dale. Cousins are not supposed to be havin’ sex with each other” (115). Deborah, who has recently learned about Elsie, who died at Crownsville when she was 15, wonders if in-breeding may have caused her sister’s disabilities.