Summer Reading: The Memory Keeper’s Daughter

I recently finished reading The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards. It is a fascinating tale about the how the lives of one family are changed by a single instant in time – a split second decision, the consequences of which dictate the next thirty years. Dr. David Henry is forced to deliver his own twins on a cold Kentucky winter night. His son comes out healthy but his daughter has the un-mistakable signs of Down Syndrome. Plagued by childhood memories of his own genetically defective and weakened sister, Dr. Henry tells the only other witness to the birth, a nurse, to send the child to a home for those of her kind. She, instead, takes the child to a new city to raise as her own daughter. He tells his wife that her daughter died in childbirth, and this lie haunts their family for the rest of their lives, creating invisible walls of silence and insurmountable barriers. It is the story about action and reaction, about family, about relationships, and above all, about love.

It is a very well-written book…you actually feel the struggle of the characters as they try and reach out to those around them. You feel the helplessness of the Doctor at his decision when it is too late to change his mind; you feel the pain of his wife; the alienation of their son; and the iron strong will of the nurse to ensure her daughter gets as adequate an education as any other child. In that same sense it is rather heavy…it is not a book to read when you are at weird moments in your life, or are re-evaluating anything in a major way. It is beautiful in it’s sadness, in it’s truths about action and consequence and the butterfly effect. How one little decision could change so much so many years later. You start to wonder how things could have been different, could have been changed. How pain could have been avoided. In addition the characters are real people, they are well-rounded and complete with their strengths and flaws. There is no one character that is above imperfection – and it is their inner battles with themselves and others that makes this story what it is.

I would highly recommend this story to those that are looking for something thought-provoking and something that is overall a beautiful story. Hope everyone is enjoying their summers!