I have been sick since returning from Colorado. I don’t do sick well … I have way too much to do. But I spent all day yesterday in bed reading a book that was recommended to me by a family I met at Memorial Day weekend Family camp. The book was a NY best seller titled The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. Seems I’m reading lots about other peoples’ daughters these days, having just read The Mistress’s Daughter.


The Memory Keeper’s Daughter was a novel that began in the early 60’s. A woman gave birth to twins, one boy and one girl. Her husband was a doctor. The twins came in the middle of a snowstorm and the doctor/dad delivered the babies. The girl was born with Down’s syndrome, so the dad made a split second decision and handed the girl to his nurse and asked the nurse to place the child in an institution. The nurse drove the baby there but couldn’t leave her; instead, she ended up raising her.


The story unfolds as the doctor’s deception becomes the axis upon which the family turns. The grief and loss experienced by the dad, his wife, and their (now) singleton son is exemplified throughout the book as their lives progress. Simultaneously, the story is told of the daughter, and her adoptive mom’s struggle to access appropriate services and resources for her child.


It is a good book and I would recommend it. I wouldn’t, however, recommend the cold or flu that I have that provided me with the time to read.


Here is an article about adopting children with Down's Syndrome.


On a completely different note, I intend to spend more time addressing the sad situation of the murder here in Kansas that was perpetrated by a disturbed young man who spent time in the foster care and juvenile justice system. He is being arraigned Thursday night. The past two days there have been memorials for the victim. The memorials are being held at our church instead of the family’s home church because there are so many people attending and we have a large sanctuary. It is so very sad, the loss of this beautiful young woman.


This article about super-predators makes many sideways references to lack of attachment being a factor in the development of pathological personalities.

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