With one rash decision many lives are forever changed. Dr David Henry fell in love with Nora at first sight. He courted her and soon they were expecting a baby. During a snowy night, he rushed his wife to the hospital to give birth, and with only a nurse able to make it in he had delivered his son. Soon after, a second fetus had emerged as Nora was fading into a state of semi-consciousness. Upon seeing his daughter, he knew the road for her would be paved with difficulties that he didn’t have in him to face. Then he made the decision that would alter his fate and those of all around him.

The nurse, Caroline, had taken the child to the home for the feeble-minded as she was ordered to do. Unable to leave this beautiful child in the arms of a place that held such disdain, she set forth on a journey into what would be one of the most fulfilling choices she has ever made. Still she felt a bit guilty that the woman who had gone through so much to deliver this child would believe that this child died at birth. Two children separated at birth with drastically different lives, all due to one man’s plight to protect the woman he loved more than life.

With a confliction of emotions MEMORY KEEPERS DAUGHTER, tears at your soul. The lives of two families linked so intimately makes this a book impossible to put down. One half of you always will wonder “what if”, the other half is grateful that so much love is bestowed on this discarded life. And then you take a moment and think about how much despair one family can face. A story of unnerving proportions so many emotions come into play happiness, disparity, anger, unending love and compassion. This is a book you will not soon forget.

Kim Edwards captures the every emotion in such vivid detail that it is impossible for it not to sink into your heart. To leave this book unaffected is unimaginable, this is a MUST read and one you will be recommending to everyone you know. A war rages inside you as you turn the pages, a fire that is just too difficult to extinguish.  Just be sure to have a box of Kleenex’s nearby as the waterworks will be difficult to stop. Since the release of Alice Sebold’s THE LUCKY BONES, this reviewer has not found a match that even came close to leaving such an emotional impression as bold as THE MEMORY KEEPERS DAUGHTER has. This is a perfect gift to bestow on someone you love.

Reviewed by Joyce