The Memory Keeper's Daughter - by Kim Edwards (Paperback)

About the Book

Dr. David Henry is forced by a blizzard to deliver his own twins. His son is perfectly healthy, but his daughter has Down's syndrome. Rationalizing it as a need to protect his wife, he asks his nurse to take the baby away to an institution. Instead, the nurse disappears into another city to raise the child herself.

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

"Edwards is a born novelist....The Memory Keeper's Daughter is rich with psychological detail and the nuances of human connection. [An] extraordinary debut."
-Chicago Tribune

"Anyone would be struck by the extraordinary power and sympathy of The Memory Keeper's Daughter."
-The Washington Post

"Absolutely mesmerizing."
-Sue Monk Kidd

"Kim Edwards has created a tale of regret and redemption... you have to reread the passages just to be captivated all over again . . . simply a beautiful book."
-Jodi Picoult

"Kim Edwards writes with great wisdom and compassion.... This is a wonderful, heartbreaking, heart-healing novel."
-Luanne Rice

"A heart-wrenching book, by turns light and dark, literary and suspenseful."
-Library Journal

"A gripping novel, beautifully written."
-Ursula Hegi
"Gripping from its start. Highly accomplished."
-The Guardian (UK)

"A remarkable achievement. [Kim Edwards has] clearly hit a nerve."
-The Independent (UK)

"Masterfully written...a compelling story that explores universal themes: the secrets we harbor, even from those we love; our ability to rationalize all manner of lies; and our fear that there will always be something unknowable about the people we love most."
-The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"I devoured it."
-Sena Jeter Naslund

About the Author

Kim Edwards is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Memory Keeper's Daughter, which was translated into thirty-eight languages. She is also the author of the New York Times bestselling novel, The Lake of Dreams, and a collection of short stories, The Secrets of a Fire King. Her honors include the Whiting Award, the British Book Award, and USA Today's Book of the Year, as well as the Nelson Algren Award, a National Magazine Award, and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, she has taught widely in the US and Asia, and currently lives in Lexington, Kentucky.