“Too Young to Remember”

Have you ever read something and felt anger inside because of what you just read? What about reading something about someone else and feeling like you could relate in some way to them? Well in this chapter of the book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”, had me feeling some type of way. This chapter was very intense and had a series of unfortunate events. In the beginning of the chapter, Henrietta’s cousins are in mourning because of her death. Her cousins came from Clover and all of Turners Station, to help cook for the family and to help take care of the children. Day, their father, was working two jobs, so he couldn’t take care of the kids. So therefore his son Lawrence, the oldest, dropped out of school to help take care of his brothers and sister, Deborah. At this time Sonny, Deborah and Joe didn’t know what happened to their mother, Henrietta Lacks, no one would tell them. Eventually Lawrence left to go to the military. So Ethel, a woman who didn’t like Henrietta, moved in with Day and the children along with her husband Galen. The purpose of them moving in was to help with the children, but that wasn’t necessarily the case. Word got around that Day and Ethel were sleeping together and that the whole reason she moved in was to get back at Henrietta by abusing the children. Henrietta’s children grew up hungry because Ethel would only give them a cold biscuit that would last them until dinner. They weren’t allowed ice in their water, she even put bolts on the refrigerator to keep them out of it. Not only did she starve them, but she would also beat them and work them like slaves. The children would have to get up at the crack of dawn to work in the fields and in the house. Ethel wouldn’t help out either, she would just sit on the couch and watch them work. At times she would beat them for no reason,