COMMUNITY READ

What if all of Carlisle read and discussed one book? In January 2012, the town buzzed about The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot.

Carlisle Reads 2012 has wrapped up! We are so appreciative of the amazing work done by the Community Read committee of Jennifer Albanese, Estelle Keast, Ann Rosas, Nancy Pierce, Susannah Vazeghoo, Marilyn Harte, Steve Golson, Martha Patten, and Angela Mollet for putting together this January's events. David Freedman crafted the brilliant posters and flyers for this fourth year running. We also had great support from Carlisle presenters such as Mary Zoll and Stephen Gillies. We welcome your suggestions for future reads in years to come or, if you are really interested in helping, let Angela or Martha know at the Library.

About the Book
Program of Events

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ABOUT THE BOOK

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells – taken without her knowledge in 1951 – became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and more. Henrietta's cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can't afford health insurance.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot, is Carlisleans’ choice to read and discuss this January during Cover to Cover, Carlisle’s community-wide read. The Immortal Life received 67 votes; runners up were The Gift of Rain, with 62 votes, The Imperfectionists, with 51 votes, The Hare with the Amber Eyes (47 votes) and A Visit from the Goon Squad (44 votes).

This New York Times bestseller tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew. It's a story inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we're made of.

PROGRAM OF EVENTS

• Tuesday, January 3, 11 a.m. Book Discussion
• Wednesday, January 4, 7 p.m. Documentary Film: Cancer Cell Research: The Way of All Flesh (60 min.)
• Sunday, January 8, 2:15 p.m. Film: Miss Evers' Boys
• Wednesday, January 11, 1:30 p.m. The History and Ethics of The Immortal Life, with medical historian Dr. David Jones (snow date 1/18)
• Thursday, January 12, 7 p.m. Writing a Page-Turning (but True) Family History
• Thursday, January 19, 7 p.m. Book Discussion
• Sunday, January 22, 2:30 p.m. Southern Social Inequalities and the Case of Henrietta Lacks, with Professor Keith Mitchell
• Tuesday, January 24, 7 p.m. "Sharing a Cell" : Preserving Patient Rights, Promoting Medical Innovation, a panel discussion. At Union Hall.
• Thursday, January 26, 12-4 p.m. (drop-in booth): Learning with LEGO DNA: A Hands-On Experience
• Tuesday, January 31, 10:30 a.m.: Poetry of 1951: An Informal Course

All events held at the Gleason Public Library 3rd floor Hollis Room unless otherwise specified.

Book Discussions
Tuesday, January 3, 11 a.m.
Thursday, January 19, 7 p.m.
What did you think of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot? Join neighbors and friends to share your thoughts and questions on this compelling tale and the issues it raises. Two book discussions will be held in the Hollis Room, Gleason Public Library, on Tuesday, January 3, at 11 a.m., with Ann Rosas and Jenn Albanese, or on Thursday, January 19, at 7 p.m. with Susannah Vazehgoo. These discussions are free and open to the public; no registration is required.

Documentary: Cancer Cell Research: The Way of All Flesh
Wednesday, January 4, 7 p.m.
In 1997, before Rebecca Skloot wrote The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Adam Curtis made a documentary about Henrietta's story for the BBC that includes interviews with her family. We will be showing this one-hour film at the Library's third floor Hollis Room; preregistration is not required.

Film: Miss Evers' Boys
Sunday, January 8, 2:15 p.m.
Between 1932 and 1972, the U.S. federal government conducted a secret medical experiment on poor African-Americans to study the effects of untreated syphilis. Come see the 1997 HBO film that tells the story of what has become known as the Tuskegee experiment. This award-winning film, starring Alfre Woodard and Laurence Fishburne, is two hours long and rated PG.

The History and Ethics of The Immortal Life with medical historian Dr. David Jones
Wednesday, January 11, 1:30 p.m. (snow date 1/18)
Join Medical Historian Dr. David Jones in a discussion about the historical medical details found in the book including disparities and ethics in the medical field. Dr. Jones will put the narrative into a context, discuss some of the critiques, and talk about why this book has been so resonant. Dr. Jones received his BA, MA, Ph.D from Harvard University and MD from Harvard Medical School and was a resident in the Adult Psychiatry Residency Training Program at McLean Hospital and MGH. His research interests include health inequalities between populations, particularly the history of explanations that have been given for health inequalities since the 17th century; human subjects research; and the history of pharmacogenetics. Reservation for this presentation is required by calling 978-369-4898.

Writing a Page-Turning (But True) Family History
Thursday, January 12, 7 p.m.
Tired of reading family histories that put you to sleep after one page? Learn some research and writing techniques that will make your family history a page-turner - without consigning it to the fiction section. Now that you've read the story of Henrietta Lacks and her family, are you inspired to write your own?

Leslie Albrecht Huber is an award-winning freelance writer and speaker. She has written over one hundred articles that have appeared in over twenty different publications and given hundreds of lectures to genealogy and history groups throughout New England and across the country. Leslie has a Master's of Public Affairs from the University of Wisconsin and a Bachelor's degree in History from Brigham Young University. She has worked as a professional genealogist, tracing German families, both for a large company and through her own business. Leslie's award-winning first book, The Journey Takers, was published in 2010. The narrative nonfiction book follows her ancestors' footsteps from their hometowns in Germany, Sweden, and England, across the Oregon Trail to Utah.

Registration for this free presentation is suggested; call 978-369-4898.

Southern Social Inequalities and the Case of Henrietta Lacks
Sunday, January 22, 2:30 p.m.
Professor Keith B. Mitchell will explore the social context of the life of Henrietta Lacks and her family. His discussion will center around the South in the post-war through the 1950's and beyond, the cultural influences of the time, and the social inequalities faced by Henrietta. Keith B. Mitchell is assistant professor of English and Ethnic literatures at UMass Lowell. He received his B.A. in English from Emory University and his Master's Degree and PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has published extensively on American, African American, and West Indian literatures. Registration for this free presentation is suggested; call 978-369-4898.

"Sharing a Cell": Preserving Patient Rights, Promoting Medical Innovation. A Panel Discussion
January 24, 7 p.m. (snow date 1/31) at Union Hall
The Immortal Life presents a thought-provoking look at some of the ethical issues in scientific research. How is current medicine and scientific innovation dealing with these questions, and what new issues have arisen as technology progresses and society's values evolve? Join a panel of local experts for some perspectives on the current and future state of patient rights, scientific innovation, and more.

Registration for this free presentation is suggested; call 978-369-4898.

Dr. Stephen Gillies, founder, president, and CEO of Provenance Biopharmaceuticals, is an accomplished scientist and business executive. He is an expert on recombinant antibodies and immunotherapy and inventor of core platform technologies, Immunocytokines and Fc-X, for which there are several clinical projects in development with various pharmaceutical companies, research institutes, and government agencies. As a postdoctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, working with Nobel laureate Susumu Tonegawa, he identified the first cellular enhancer sequences that were found to be critical for the regulation of antibody expression. This discovery contributed to the successful development of Erbitux, a cancer drug marketed by Imclone Systems Inc., Bristol Myers Squibb, and Merck KGaA. During the course of his scientific career, Dr. Gillies has led multiple therapeutic candidates into clinical development for HIV/AIDS and cancer.

Dr. Gillies has his M.S. degree and Ph.D. from the College of Medicine and Dentistry, Rutgers University and his B.S. degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Julie Slezak has been a health services researcher for 20 years. She has focused on big data for most of her career leading teams of researchers, data analysts, and analytic product development groups with the knowledge of how to develop data to support these functions. She is published in trade and scientific journals. Her current role at Silverlink Communications is focusing on the delivery of industry leading benchmarks and analytical product for customers focused on getting results for their communication investments.

She has her Bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and holds a Master degree in Public Health Sciences from the University of Illinois' School of Public Health, Division Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

Dr. David Green is a doctor specializing in Critical Care Medicine and Pulmonary Medicine, as well as chair of the Ethics Committee at Emerson Hospital in Concord. He is a graduate of the University of Rochester School of Medicine, 1971. The Ethics Committee offers confidential consultations to patients and their families on matters that may involve ethical concerns such as end-of-life care, consent for medical interventions when the patient is unable to participate in the discussion or decisions to discontinue treatment. The role of the Committee is to advise and help clarify medical situations with uncertainty or conflict, societal values and moral or legal issues.

Learning with LEGO DNA: a hands-on experience
Thursday, January 26, 12 noon to 4 p.m. (drop-in)
Drop in for a hands-on LEGO activity and learn about the DNA structures that make up life. Presented courtesy of the MIT Museum, for ages 5 and up accompanied by an adult.

Poetry of 1951 with Mary Zoll
Tuesday, January 31st, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Dip or dive into the pleasures of poetry. This informal course, led by Mary Zoll, will include poetry readings and reactions, discussions of the patterns and techniques used in the poems, and perhaps some intellectual understanding of the poems. In this special session, join us for a look at the poetry of Henrietta Lacks' era. The group will read poems from 1951 by Adrienne Rich, Conrad Aiken, and Carl Sandburg. Rich was the winner of the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award for her first publication, A Change of World; Conrad Aiken was Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, now known as the Poet Laureate of the United States; and Carl Sandburg won the Pulitzer Prize for Complete Poems. The class is open to anyone interested in experiencing poetry, but pre-registration at 978-369-4898 is suggested. Mary Zoll has published a few poems and read a multitude of poems.