The Memory Keeper's Daughter A Novel [Paperback]

A #1New York Timesbestseller by Kim Edwards,The Memory Keeper’s Daughteris 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 Daughterexplores 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.“Edwards is a born novelist....TheMemory Keeper’s Daughteris 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 ofThe 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 . . .&#lSÃ