Henrietta's family members are the primary characters in this book. Her husband Day and her five children (Lawrence, Elsie, Sonny, Deborah, and Joe) feature prominently, as do various cousins of Henrietta's. The Lackses are bound together by love, blood, and financial circumstances, which at times require them to move in together to save money and raise children. This was unfortunate for Henrietta's children, because it resulted in Henrietta's abusive cousin Ethel moving in shortly after Henrietta's death. Blood ties didn't save Sonny, Deborah, and Joe from Ethel's wrath, which drove her to torture and starve the children mercilessly—particularly Joe, who developed anger issues as a result. Violence often erupted between spouses, most notably Deborah and Cheetah, who fought so often and so viciously that Deborah briefly considered killing Cheetah. Homes were destroyed by death, divorce, and sexual abuse, as when Ethel's husband Galen abused the underage Deborah for years. Though the Lackses remained close, physically and emotionally, their lives were difficult, and the family was beset by poverty and disease, in addition to being kept in the dark about HeLa cells.