The Misery of Being Him

In Kim Edwards' heart-breaking novel, The Memory Keeper's Daughter, there is one major conflict that causes the book to unravel its story. From the very start, we are introduced to Dr. David Henry who makes a mistake that leaves him to question himself for the rest of his life and the novel. It is very captivating in the way Edwards has captured the image of a broken man who is, in reality, a coward. Dr. Henry chooses to coldly disconnect his relationship with his newborn daughter and abandons her with Coraline, the nurse because she has Down Syndrome. His reason was to not be hurt once more when his daughter dies because of this disease. One of the ways he reason with himself is using the case of his sister who died at twelve because of an illness that caused her heart to defect, to harden his heart.

So, Dr. Henry, apathetically, sends his daughter away. Since then, this incident has always been on the mind of Dr. Henry. This begins the idea of man vs self. As the book progresses, Dr. Henry starts to question the actions he made that night he chose to send his daughter to an orphanage. He starts to doubt and pain comes through him. He cannot tell anyone and he must suffer alone for his mistake. And it is in this circumstance that the idea of man vs self begins to show itself. However, with all the doubt he is facing and the pain he starts to feel, it seems to not be enough for his burden. Outside components begin to trap him as well. One of the most painful reminders he must face everyday is his wife who is trying to bravely go on with life even after Dr. Henry had told her a lie. This lie, of course, was that fact that her daughter was dead which of course, the readers know it is not true. And it is this lie that leads to the downfall of Dr. Henry's perfect little family of happiness or really, his imagination of a perfect family.

I do not know of the ending but the further I read, the more tear-jerking and thought-provoking scenes come alive. It is this act of cowardice that changes the lives of everyone in the novel and it is the same act that I cannot digest properly in my mind. The more I read, the more conflicted I am. Kim Edwards brings this "man vs self" into life and David Henry's misery of committing this act gets through to the readers but it hurts my soul. It is in this that I congratulate Edwards for bringing a character of really, a normal, ordinary adult who in his deepest, darkest hours into this world. Plus, with this conflict, I am sure many of us can relate because many of us, including me, have, I'm sure, that have committed a mistake that changed our lives completely. Perhaps, it was good, yet perhaps, it could have been like David Henry who made this mistake destroy his life.