Cuesta College picks Rebecca Skloot best-seller as 2017 Book of Year

Ethics, medicine and race relations are at the heart of Cuesta College’s Book of the Year selection for 2017.

Next year’s pick is “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot.

The nonfiction narrative details the life and legacy of Henrietta Lacks, a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells — taken without her knowledge or permission in 1951 — have led to remarkable medical discoveries.

The award-winning book spent 75 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list.

Now in its ninth year, the Book of the Year program is sponsored by Cuesta College and San Luis Obispo City-County Library.

The program officially kicks off with a fundraiser reception, 5 to 8 p.m. Oct. 24 at Old San Luis BBQ Co. in San Luis Obispo. Also in store are workshops, book discussions and more.

Book of the Year festivities conclude with a presentation and book signing on April 12 at Cuesta’s Cultural and Performing Arts Center in San Luis Obispo, featuring two members of the Lacks family. Tickets are $5, and go on sale in February.

The family members’ visit will put “a personal face to big issues such as the dark history of experimentation on African-Americans, the birth of bioethics and the legal battles over informed consent,” Carina Love, Cuesta librarian and Book of the Year Committee chairwoman, said in a news release.

For more information, visit www.cuesta.edu/library/book.

This story was originally published October 13, 2016 at 9:25 AM with the headline "Cuesta College picks Rebecca Skloot best-seller as 2017 Book of Year."