The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is about the consequences of one action and the effect that it will have on many lives.   The story starts in 1964 with Dr David Henry forced to deliver his wife’s baby as the obstetrician is unavailable.  Dr David Henry is a specialist in bone and joint surgery, but with the help of his colleague, nurse Gill, he knows he can deliver his baby safely.    But what he doesn’t know is that his wife, Norah, is expecting twins.  David’s son Paul is born a healthy boy.  At this point Norah is exhausted and doesn’t know what is happening.  He delivers the second baby, a girl.  It is obvious to Dr Henry that she has Down’s syndrome.  He instructs nurse Gill to take his daughter to a home where she can be brought up.  When his wife wakes he tells her that she had twins, but the little girl died.  This one action will haunt David for the rest of his life.  The story unfolds following the lives of David, Norah, Caroline Gill and the two children Paul and Phoebe.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading it for the second time.