by Kim Edwards
First published 2011
Dr. David Henry delivers his own twins during a blizzard in the early 1960s. When one child is born with Down syndrome, he makes a split-second decision that will haunt his family for decades. While his sedated wife Norah recovers from childbirth, David tells her their daughter died and secretly gives the baby to his nurse Caroline. Instead of taking the child to an institution as instructed, Caroline raises Phoebe as her own daughter. David and Norah raise their son Paul, never knowing his twin sister lives just miles away. The lie creates an invisible wound in their marriage. Caroline builds a new life with her partner Al, devoted to Phoebe's care and growth. Two families develop along parallel paths, shaped by one man's deception. The twins grow up apart, unaware of each other's existence, until fate eventually brings them together. This story explores how secrets corrode relationships and how love persists despite separation and loss.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: deception, secrets, separation
Setting: Blizzard, Institution
Period: 1960s
400 pages · Paperback · De Arbeiderspers
Content warnings: child-death, medical-trauma