The Memory Keeper's Daughter: A Novel
A #1 New York Times bestseller by Kim Edwards, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is a brilliantly crafted novel of parallel lives, familial secrets, and the redemptive power of love
Kim Edwards’s stunning novel begins on a winter night in 1964 in Lexington, Kentucky, when a blizzard forces Dr. David Henry to deliver his own twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy, but the doctor immediately recognizes that his daughter has Down syndrome. Rationalizing it as a need to protect Norah, his wife, he makes a split second decision that will alter all of their lives forever. He asks his nurse, Caroline, to take the baby away to an institution and never to reveal the secret. Instead, she disappears into another city to raise the child herself. So begins this beautifully told story that unfolds over a quarter of a century—in which these two families, ignorant of each other, are yet bound by the fateful decision made that winter night long ago.
A family drama, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter explores every mother's silent fear: What would happen if you lost your child and she grew up without you? It is also an astonishing tale of love and how the mysterious ties that hold a family together help us survive the heartache that occurs when long-buried secrets are finally uncovered.
Kim Edwards’s stunning novel begins on a winter night in 1964 in Lexington, Kentucky, when a blizzard forces Dr. David Henry to deliver his own twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy, but the doctor immediately recognizes that his daughter has Down syndrome. Rationalizing it as a need to protect Norah, his wife, he makes a split second decision that will alter all of their lives forever. He asks his nurse, Caroline, to take the baby away to an institution and never to reveal the secret. Instead, she disappears into another city to raise the child herself. So begins this beautifully told story that unfolds over a quarter of a century—in which these two families, ignorant of each other, are yet bound by the fateful decision made that winter night long ago.
A family drama, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter explores every mother's silent fear: What would happen if you lost your child and she grew up without you? It is also an astonishing tale of love and how the mysterious ties that hold a family together help us survive the heartache that occurs when long-buried secrets are finally uncovered.
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Readers say *The Memory Keeper’s Daughter* is a beautifully written, emotional novel exploring family, secrets, and societal attitudes toward disabili...
I really enjoyed the plot and characters. The actual writing is flawed in places, but overall, I would recommend this book.
Written 5/24/08
It was an ok book - I had decided to read it because it was a movie on Lifetime. It's a story of a husband and wife who have twins - the husband delivers his children - the first - a son - born healthy -the wife by that point has had a really hard labor and is out of it when she gives birth to a daughter who the father recognizes has downs syndrome- In that era (the 60's)children with downs didn't have a long life expectancy, so he handed his daughter to his nurse instructing her to take her to a facility in the neighboring town-The nurse ends up caring for and raising the daughter as her own. The husband tells his wife the daughter died. Through the story the husband and wife grow apart because of the secret which lies between them. The husband eventually dies - only then does the nurse contact the wif and tells her of her daughter-
Probably a good Lifetime movie-I just don't think it's my kind of book-
The movie was actually better than the book...
It was an ok book - I had decided to read it because it was a movie on Lifetime. It's a story of a husband and wife who have twins - the husband delivers his children - the first - a son - born healthy -the wife by that point has had a really hard labor and is out of it when she gives birth to a daughter who the father recognizes has downs syndrome- In that era (the 60's)children with downs didn't have a long life expectancy, so he handed his daughter to his nurse instructing her to take her to a facility in the neighboring town-The nurse ends up caring for and raising the daughter as her own. The husband tells his wife the daughter died. Through the story the husband and wife grow apart because of the secret which lies between them. The husband eventually dies - only then does the nurse contact the wif and tells her of her daughter-
Probably a good Lifetime movie-I just don't think it's my kind of book-
The movie was actually better than the book...
I liked this so much, but it gave me a sad feeling also, that a family could be ripped apart by a secret and the reader has that frustrated, why-won't-you-just-say-it feeling. It gave me solace that we knew the daughter was okay, and that there was a good soul in the nurse who raised her.
The Memory Keeper's Daughter is a great book club book, with tons of symbolism and great character studies. If only I had a book club and someone to discuss it with... This intriguing novel is about a secret and the rippling effect it has on a family over the expanse of twenty-five years. Beautifully written, Edwards' characters are fallible and empathetic.
I was drawn into the story at first, even with the incredulous leaps of disbelief I had to suspend. But as the story progressed, I became frustrated with all of the characters, especially David and Norah. I finished it but did not love it, and would not recommend it to others.
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