The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter takes place in the 1960s, when a doctor’s wife gives birth to twins during a snowstorm, in the doctor’s office, with only his nurse there to witness it. The first baby, a boy, is born healthy, but the second baby is born with Down Syndrome, and the wife (sedated with gas, as they did in those days) is told by her husband that the baby died. While the wife was sedated, the doctor handed the baby to the nurse and told her to take the baby to an institution for the feeble-minded, and leave her there. (Remember, this was in the days where they more commonly did such things.) The nurse attempts to do it, but can’t bring herself to leave the precious baby in the depressing home, so she runs off with the baby girl.

That’s only the beginning. The rest of the story deals with the results of that night . . . the guilt of the father, the grief of the mother (whose baby is “buried” without her ever seeing the body), the life of the unmarried nurse raising the baby, and the son who grows up without his twin sister. Lots of dysfunction in this family. They really could have used some family therapy!

I enjoyed the story, although this writer’s style is way too heavy on the descriptions for me. I don’t really need to know what every person smelled like, for example. As for the characters, I liked the storyline of the nurse, but I didn’t care for the family very much, with all their dramatics.

This book is a bestseller, though it’s one of those where some people love it and other people hate it. Give it a try and see what you think. Ultimately, I guess I was glad I slogged through it, though at times it took effort.