Starstruck

I've had the opportunity to meet Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and Deborah Blum, author, The Poisoner's Handbook.

Skloot's lecture on March 25th was enthralling but what I enjoyed the most and was most privileged to attend was dinner with her and my classmates in my professor's home. Not only was the food absolutely amazing but speaking with her in a more intimate setting about her work, writing, and her rise to fame offered a glimpse into another side of science writing. I highly recommend her book because it tells the story of how inexplicably intertwined the lives of people and scientific progress are. I was captivated by the story of the Lackses and how Skloot's search to unearth the truth aided the family's search to simply know more about Henrietta Lacks.

Blum's in-class visit was also just as interesting as we discussed, informally, how the government poisoned people during prohibition. During our talk, she also asked us to share what we were working on and offered really great ideas about directions we could take with our feature stories. I enjoyed her thoughts and, looking back on it, i'm surprised that I got to rub elbows with famous people!

Check back this weekend! I'll be reporting from a 5K in North Greenville, SC. Should be an interesting mix of athletics, pollen, and pain (being that I am participating and feel wholly out of shape).