A novel by Kim Edwards published in 2005.
This gripping book tells the story of a doctor who rushes to get his wife to the clinic in a blizzard where she gives birth (after she passes out) to twins, one of which is a "mongoloid" (what they were called at the time). The doctor, believing that he's saving his wife & family from grief, tells her that the baby died and tells his nurse to deliver it to the institution. The nurse decides to keep the baby girl and raise it as her own, never telling Dr. Henry. The doctor's secret slowly through the years, backfires and destroys the family (his wife and son, the twin who thought his sister died at birth).
My mom gave me this book and in her recent travels to Kyoto, it's still a bestseller there, 2 yrs later. It's poignant and beautifully written. It was so well written and amazingly is the author's 1st novel. I hope to read a lot more of her work.
Dr. David Henry's choice is life-altering, affecting all those around him. The book intermingles between parallel lives, (1) the life of the nurse and the memory keeper's daughter and (2) the doctor's and his family's lives. Dr. Henry is referred to as the memory keeper because of his photography.
After half a century, David finally meets his daughter for the 1st time. The book was on the verge of bringing me to tears. It's a tale of regret and redemption... of characters haunted by their past. Crafted with language so lovely.
It was captivating... simply a beautiful story.
