Book Group

I posted a few weeks ago about joining the Women's Club of IUP. Since then, I have gone to Craft Night, Game Night and Book Group. All of the events have been really fun and I've met a lot of women of all ages. Today I went to Book Group for the first time. We discussed The Memory-Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. Here's a brief synopsis:

It's 1964 and a young woman is giving birth for the first time. Because of a blizzard, she gives birth at her husband's clinic (he's a doctor) with only themselves and a nurse present. A healthy baby boy is born, then an unexpected twin girl is born. The husband recognizes that the baby has Down's Syndrome. While his wife is recovering from the sedative she was given during the birth, he tells the nurse to take the baby girl to an institution for the mentally disabled. When his wife wakes up, he suddenly decides to tell her that the girl died at birth. Once away from the clinic, the nurse decides to take the baby and raise her as her own daughter.

The book follows all of these characters' lives over the next 24 years. Maybe this book captured my attention so much because I'm expecting my own child and can somewhat put myself in the mother's shoes, but I think I would have found it compelling even before. It describes so well the tragedy that comes from a relationship based on lies, but you sense throughout the book that there is hope if only the truth could come out. Plus, for someone my age, it is really thought-provoking to read about how children with Down's were treated only a few decades ago.

If you're looking for something to read over the holidays, you might want to give this one a try.