海角大神

Rebecca Skloot, the science writer who turned the history of a cell line into a page-turning bestseller, has a new book in the works.

In Skloot鈥檚 first title, 鈥�,鈥� she unearthed the story of the ubiquitous cell line known as 鈥淗eLa.鈥� She mixed history and biology and ethical debates with years of dogged personal research on Lacks, a poor black tobacco farmer who never knew that her cancerous cells had been used for .

Skloot worked for years to gain the trust of Lacks鈥� descendents, overcoming what seemed insurmountable barriers of past misdeeds and mistrust. She organized her own book tour when publishers thought it wasn鈥檛 worth the expense, said . The book went on to sell more than 1.25 million copies to date, , and Oprah Winfrey signed up to .

The new book doesn鈥檛 sound as specifically targeted. It will 鈥渆xplore, among many other subjects, the neurology of human-animal relationships, human nature and responsibility, and the unexamined ethics of our relationship with animals,鈥� according to a news release. And it will draw on Skloot鈥檚 years of work in veterinary medicine, 鈥渇irst as a nurse for animals in general practices and emergency rooms, and later as a technician in veterinary morgues and neurology labs.鈥� The overall bent does have some parallels with her first title, though, the release says it will combine personal stories with science, medicine, ethics, and history. And Skloot that the topic is another one that has long obsessed her, that for her 鈥渢hat core of obsession" is the first and most important criteria for writing any story.

With Skloot鈥檚 impressive debut, the subject may not even matter that much. As , 鈥淸I]f Skloot can make a story about a strain of cancer cells intensely human and engaging, I鈥檓 sure she can do the same with animals.鈥� And as, responding to congratulations, she鈥檚 excited about the book 鈥� and just needs to stop touring in connection with her first book long enough to write it.

Seattle writer Rebekah Denn blogs at

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