The public has spoken! For the second year in a row community members have chosen the One Book One Community title. The 2014 selection is “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot.
2014 will be the seventh year the area has had a community read program. This cooperative venture is designed to bring the community together through the experience of reading the same book. One slight change this year is that the program will be held during the month of May.
“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot, is a real detective story that was on the New York Times best seller list for over two years. Without ever telling her or her family, doctors retrieved cells from Henrietta Lacks, the descendant of freed slaves, and used them to create the first immortal human cell line grown in culture, with important consequences for cancer research, in vitro developments, gene mapping, and more. The book touches on many issues including science, civil rights, history, and ethics.
Events to compliment the reading of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” are now being planned. If you or your organization would like to participate in the planning or hosting of events please contact your local library.
One Book One Community began in 2008 as a grant funded Big Read, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts. This will mark the seventh year of local participation, and the 3rd without NEA funding. All support now comes from the Community Foundation of the Central Blue Ridge, the Augusta County, Staunton, and Waynesboro libraries and their Friends groups, and other area contributors. Donations are welcome and will be used to support the program and purchase additional copies of the title.
To keep up with the One Book One Community, go to www.sawcommunityread.org.
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