A #1 New York Times bestseller by Kim Edwards, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is 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 Daughter explores 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....The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is 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 of The 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 . . .  simply a beautiful book.”
–Jodi Picoult
 
“Kim Edwards writes with great wisdom and compassion.... This is a wonderful, heartbreaking, heart-healing novel.”
–Luanne Rice
 
“A heart-wrenching book, by turns light and dark, literary and suspenseful.”
–Library Journal 
 
“A gripping novel, beautifully written.”
–Ursula Hegi
 “Gripping from its start. Highly accomplished.”
–The Guardian (UK)
 
“A remarkable achievement. [Kim Edwards has] clearly hit a nerve.”
–The Independent (UK)
 
“Masterfully written…a compelling story that explores universal themes: the secrets we harbor, even from those we love; our ability to rationalize all manner of lies; and our fear that there will always be something unknowable about the people we love most.”
–The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 
 “I devoured it.”
–Sena Jeter Naslund