The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, by Kim Edwards

July 11, 2008 on 9:04 pm | In General, This and That, books |

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, by Kim Edwards

What would you do if faced with the same situation that Dr. David Henry was faced with. Can you say for sure?

After delivering twins during a blizzard, the doctor is faced with the fact his second-born, a daughter, has Down’s Syndrome. Deciding, during a time of intense pressure and making a split-second on-the-spot choice, the doctor feels it is in the best interests of the child, to have the baby taken away, to an institution. He feels it is for her own good, and convinces himself he is doing it for the baby’s own good. He asks his nurse, Caroline, to take the baby to an institution.

Caroline, chooses to raise the baby as her own daughter, and does it rather successfully, fighting for her daughter’s rights in every phase of her life, making sure she is able to sustain herself and care for herself.

Dr. David Henry obsesses with photography, which has become his outlet for the guilt he constantly feels over his decision. His choice has left a void within his family, a void only he can cure by being forthright, but his apprehensions prevent him from that, and he keeps the secret of his choices.

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is an excellent psychological study on strength, caring, guilt, parallel lives, and the power to forgive and be redeemed, through the capability of love’s strength.

Kim Edwards manages to fulfill us with her amazing ability to bring us delicate, yet, compelling prose, emphasizing the haunting choices each character has made.