This novel made me think a lot about the split-decisions we make and their ramifications. Granted not everyone is faced with the decision Dr. David Henry had to make on a wintry night in 1964.
When Norah Henry goes into labor her husband, an orthopedic surgeon, is her only available help as a snowstorm has shut down the city. David knows enough to deliver their son but isn’t prepared for the second baby. When he sees his daughter he knows something is wrong and makes the fateful decision of telling Norah that their second baby died at birth.
Phoebe was born with Down Syndrome and David thinks that it’s best to institutionalize her. He gives her to the nurse assisting him, Caroline, and believes he has done an act of mercy not only for his daughter but for his wife.
Edwards invites the reader to see two sets of families. One seemingly perfect, Norah, David and their son, but which is actually falling apart from the absence of the little girl. David is wracked by guilt and Norah’s grief has its own consequences. The other family is actually Caroline, who instead of institutionalizing Phoebe has decided to keep her.
I enjoyed reading the alternate points of view in the story because it gave me a better sense as to what each character was going through and how each person was shaped by that fateful decision, even if I didn’t necessarily agree or buy into their actions.
While the book losses a bit of momentum in the middle, and as a reader you want to know what the ultimate consequences will be, it still is a satisfying read.
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