The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

I finished Kim Edwards's New York Times Bestseller The Memory Keeper's Daughter.

For those of you who have not heard of this book, here's a summary.

This novel begins on a winter night in 1964, when a blizzard forces Dr. David Henry, an orthopedic doctor and surgeon, to deliver his own twins. His son (Paul) is born first and appears to be perfectly healthy. Suddenly, he realizes that his wife is having twins and when the second baby, a daughter (Phoebe), is born, Dr. Henry immediately realizes that she has Down syndrome.

He makes a split-second decision to ask his nurse, Caroline Gill, to take the second baby away to an institution (as was common practice in that time) in an effort to spare his wife the pain of raising and losing Phoebe. Dr. Henry tells his wife Norah that Phoebe was stillborn and Caroline disappears overnight into another city to raise the child as her own.

The book then tells the parallel stories of Dr. & Mrs. Henry raising Paul and Caroline raising Phoebe and how each deals with their secrets and loss.

I have mixed feelings about book. I felt like the plot was predictable and oftentimes felt contrived.

Still, I'm a sap and I will admit to crying towards the end of the book.

The ethical dilemma raised in this book is certainly worth discussing. Put in a similar situation at that time in history -- when it was common practice to put children with Down syndrome into institutions since medical knowledge of the disease was so limited -- I can't say for sure that I would have chosen to keep the baby.

What do you think?

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

So far, I'm not sure how I feel about Kim Edwards's New York Times Bestseller The Memory Keeper's Daughter.

Nevertheless, here are some discussion questions courtesy of the publisher:

1. When David hands his baby girl over to Caroline and tells Norah that she has died, what was your immediate emotional reaction? At this early point, did you understand David’s motivations? Did your understanding grow as the novel progressed?
2. David describes feeling like “an aberration” within his own family (p. 7) and describes himself as feeling like “an imposter” in his professional life as a doctor (p. 8). Discuss David’s psyche, his history, and what led him to make that fateful decision on the night of his children’s birth.
3. When David instructs Caroline to take Phoebe to the institution, Caroline could have flatly refused or she could have gone to the authorities. Why doesn’t she? Was she right to do what she did and raise Phoebe as her own? Was Caroline morally obligated to tell Norah the truth right from the beginning? Or was her moral obligation simply to take care of Phoebe at whatever cost? Why does she come to Norah after David’s death?
4. Though David wanted no part of her, Phoebe goes on to lead a full life, bringing much joy to Caroline and Al. Her story calls into question how we determine what kind of life is worth living. How would you define such a life? In contrast to Phoebe’s, how would you describe the quality of Paul’s life as he grew up?
5. Throughout the novel, the characters often describe themselves as feeling as if they are watching their own lives from the outside. For instance, David describes the moment when his wife is going into labor and says “he felt strangely as if he himself were suspended in the room . . . watching them both from above” (p. 10). What do you think Edwards is trying to convey here? Have you ever experienced similar feelings in your own life?
6. There is an obvious connection between David and Caroline, most aptly captured by a particular moment described through David’s point of view: “Their eyes met, and it seemed to the doctor that he knew her—that they knew each other—in some profound and certain way” (p. 12). What is the significance of this moment for each of them? How would you describe the connection between them? Why do you think David married Norah and not Caroline?
7. After Norah has successfully destroyed the wasps’ nest, Edwards writes that there was something happening in Norah’s life, “an explosion, some way in which life could never be the same” (p. 139). What does she mean, and what is the significance of Norah’s “fight” with these wasps?
8. When David meets Rosemary (p. 267) it turns out to be a cathartic experience for him. What is it about her that enables David to finally speak the truth? Why does he feel compelled to take care of her?
9. The secret that David keeps is enormous and ultimately terribly destructive to himself and his family. Can you imagine a circumstance when it might be the right choice to shield those closest to you from the truth?
10. What do you think Norah’s reaction would have been if David had been honest with her from the beginning? How might Norah have responded to the news that she had a daughter with Down syndrome? How might each of their lives have been different if David had not handed Phoebe to Caroline that fateful day?

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

I've been meaning to read The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards for years now.

I've heard mixed reviews from friends who have read this book. Many loved it and highly recommended the book. Others said it was so terrible they couldn't even finish reading it.

I kept seeing it in bookstores but finally picked it up at my local library book sale in April and have just started it.

I'm hopeful that my low expectations will increase my enjoyment of this book!

Click here to read an excerpt or to read Motoko Rich's review titled "A Stirring Family Drama Is a Hit (in Paperback)" published July 13, 2006 in the New York Times.