Book Review -- The Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards

Imagine a time when children that were born with physical defects or problems were given away to institutions and special needs homes. In The Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards, Dr. David Henry gives one of his twins, Phoebe, away after he figures out that she is born with Down's Syndrome. This book starts in 1964, where Norah Henry and David Henry are rushing to his medical clinic in the midst of a freak blizzard to deliver their child. Caroline Gill, a nurse at the clinic, helps deliver the child. After their son Paul is born, Norah experiences more contractions, and she gives birth to a baby girl, Phoebe. David automatically realizes that Phoebe has Down's Syndrome, and sends her off with Caroline to a mental hospital some miles away. He later tells Norah that Phoebe had died during birth, while the truth is that Phoebe is in the care of Caroline. Norah mourns the death of her child, while Caroline takes Phoebe as her own and raises her. David later finds out that Caroline decided to raise Phoebe as her own, and withholds this secret from Norah. Norah and David lead a seemingly normal life, and Norah still doesn't know that her daughter is still alive.
During the 1960's, it was actually quite common for parents and doctors to send babies that had Down's syndrome or other diseases to mental hospitals. Another book that shines a light on this issue is Petey, by Ben Mikaelsen. Petey is born with cerebral palsy, and spends his life in a mental institution, unlike Phoebe in The Memory Keeper's Daughter. Phoebe is raised by Caroline, who fights the public education system so that she could attend public school. Paul is continued to be raised by his parents David and Norah. The memory of her daughter's death still slightly haunts Norah, but she seems to have moved on by this point in the story. David still communicates with Caroline, and when he gets a camera for his birthday, he starts photography as a time-consuming hobby. Caroline helps allow children like Phoebe to enter public schools, and marries her friend Al, who was a truck driver who had helped Caroline and Phoebe the night after Phoebe had been born. David gets further into his photography, and even holds an art show after his photography becomes somewhat well-known. Norah gets a job in a travel agency after Paul starts school. She later goes on to own the travel agency after the original owner passes away. They continue their lives, with Norah still not knowing about Phoebe, and David and Caroline still keeping contact.
Fast forward to 1977. The twins are now thirteen years old. Phoebe has just been confirmed, and Paul is anaccomplished musician, aspiring to attend Juillard. David and Norah's relationship is struggling. While in vacation in Aruba, Norah has an affair with divorcee Howard. Paul and David both know about the affair, so this dillema sends David further into his photography. 1982: Phoebe and Paul are now 18-years-old. Paul has been accepted to Juillard, and Phoebe is still living with Caroline and Al. Al has a bad trucking accident which causes him to end his career in the trucking business.
Go forward another six years. David has died of a heart attack, and Norah and Paul find all his photographs, including photos of their long-lost daughter. Caroline finds out about David's death, and sets up a meeting so Norah can finally meet the daughter she never knew was alive.
The theme of this story is that love endures all obstacles. Norah still loved Phoebe as if she had known her her whole life. It also shows that love will hide the greatest secrets. David's strong love for his wife made him hold the secret of his daughter inside. Caroline loved Phoebe as if she was her own daughter, just as Norah would learn to love her after meeting her 24-year-old daughter for the first time in her life. I highly reccomend everyone to read this book. It's a great book, and I think that a lot of people would like it.