The Memory Keeper's Daughter

I don't know if I would "highly recommend" this novel, but it was very interesting and I can't get some of the themes out of my mind. It wasn't terribly uplifting, but a very honest look at people's lives. I do love the way that it was written; it wasn't written in first person, but it was written from the point of view of four different people. Each chapter is written from a different viewpoint. So, Edwards lets you see how the same event can be interpreted so vastly different depending on the person. It made it very interesting, and it also made the characters very complicated (and probably more realistic). These characters did truly horrible things if you were just to hear their actions, but when you get to see into their hearts and minds, you realize that their intentions were not "evil," and that they actually thought that they were doing the right thing. It makes me think about a book I read by Virginia Pearce (President Hinckley's daughter) called "A Heart Like His" (which I would recommend). Sister Pearce talks about a concept that she calls the "nobility of intent." When practicing this concept, Sister Pearce assumes that other people's intentions are always pure and "noble" even when their actions may seem otherwise.


Another point that really stood out to me in "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" was the importance of complete honesty. The entire book is centered around a lie that a young husband told to his wife. The length of the book spanned about 25 years, and it showed how this dishonesty (however well intended) destroyed these lives. It was actually very sad to see all the pain that was caused by this one act. And, of course, one lie led to several others. It did end with redemption and forgiveness, but those 25 years could have been so different if they just would have been honest with one another in the first place, no matter how difficult the truth may have seemed at the time.

Anyway...it was definitely interesting and had some very important themes.