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Marcelle Cruzado
English 11 H
Mr. Davis
Period 2
27 January 2015
Outside Reading Analysis Essay: The Burden of Keeping a Secret
Kevin Conroy, a well-known voice and stage actor, stated, Everyone is handed adversity
in life. No one's journey is easy. It is how they handle it that makes people unique (Kevin
Conroy Quote). In The Memory Keepers Daughter, written by Kim Edwards, the story unravels
after the first chapter, when Dr. David Henry delivers his baby and is surprised to find that his
wife is having twins. However, when he discovers that one of the two babies is born with Down
Syndrome, he asks his nurse, Caroline Gills, to take the baby girl, Phoebe, to an institution for
those with similar conditions. Instead of telling his wife the truth, Dr. David Henry claims that
Phoebe passed away shortly after delivery. As Caroline arrived at the institution and noticed the
terrible living conditions, Caroline makes the life-changing decision to raise the child as her own
and start a new life in a different town. The main setting of The Memory Keepers Daughter
begins in the 1960s in both Lexington, Kentucky and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with the story
being told between alternating viewpoints of Phoebe and Paul as well as those raising them. This
reveals the contrasts between the lives of the two families and how the consequences of their
decisions were played out. The main theme that is showcased throughout The Memory Keepers
Daughter, as well as throughout modern day society, is the burden of keeping a secret and the
importance of honesty. This is displayed through the character development of Dr. David Henry.

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"This poor child will most likely have a serious heart defect. A fatal one. I'm trying to
spare us all a terrible grief" (Edwards 14). During this scene of The Memory Keepers Daughter,
Dr. David Henry has just ordered his Nurse to bring his daughter, Phoebe, to an institution,
without consulting with his wife. Believed to be a good man at heart, his first instinct is to
protect his wife, Norah, and his son, Paul, from the heartache of loving Phoebe and losing her
because it is known that those diagnosed with Down Syndrome do not live long lives. He is
familiar with this pain because he grew up with a younger sister with Down Syndrome, named
June. He did not want to relive and endure the pain his family had gone through every day of
Junes short life, having to deal with expensive medical bills and the fear of losing her. While he
continued to focus on the negative aspects of his childhood, he ultimately ignored all the good
that has come out of it. When his sister died, he told his mom that he would go out and Fix the
world (Edwards 140), which is why he became a doctor. Despite this, Dr. Henry still decided to
give up his daughter; he did not think he could make the difference he has been trying to achieve
in her life. This is a perfect example of what is seen throughout modern society, as it showcases
the fear of facing reality and exercising a quick-fix mentality rather than displaying patience
while overcoming adversity. According to a Down Syndrome research study, conducted in 2009,
by Dr. Brian Skotko, a pediatric geneticist, about 92% of all women in the United States who
discovered they were carrying a child with Down Syndrome have chosen to terminate their
pregnancies (James, Down Syndrome Births). The reason for this way of thinking goes all the
way back to the standards society has created such as the ridiculous notion that thin is beautiful,
or caring about what people think. Anything different from what society believes is disregarded,
ignored, or condemned because people fear change, they fear being different. In The Memory
Keepers Daughter, Phoebe is born different, but no one should be ashamed of that. Despite what

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should be, Dr. Henry makes the decision to keep this secret from his family, disregarding the
possible repercussions of his action.
Later in the text, Dr. David Henry states, Photography is all about secrets. The secrets
we all have and will never tell (Edwards 141). As the story progresses, the burden of keeping a
secret ultimately destroys the relationships between Dr. Henry, his wife, Norah, and their son,
Paul. As the years continue, the separation between this family continues to grow. Dr. David
Henry takes up photography and focuses all his energy on capturing the beauty of life, to keep
his mind off of his deep, dark secret. Norah, heartbroken from losing a daughter, engages in
several love affairs to distract her from her broken relationship with her husband. Lastly, since
both Dr. David Henry and Norah decide to take up hobbies in order to ignore the reality of
their own lives, their example was passed on to their son Paul, who chose to focus on his music,
instead of possibly fixing the problems with his family. While Dr. Henry believed he gave up
Phoebe to brighten up the future of his family, instead, it tore his family apart. This all happened
as a result of giving up Phoebe at birth, reinforcing the idea that the guilt involved in keeping a
secret outweighs the heartache of loving and possibly losing Phoebe, can ultimately ruin the
relationships in its path. The guilt of keeping a secret as big as the one Dr. David Henry had was
too strong to overcome, since the only solution was to tell the truth. People struggle with telling
the truth all the time. They convince themselves that keeping secrets will cause less pain, when
in reality, it causes great heartache.
As the story comes to an end, Dr. David Henry begins to reflect on his life, as he claims
when he says, The patterns of his life were painfully clear now. He had handed their daughter to
Caroline Gill and the secret had taken root; it had grown and blossomed in the center of his
family (Edwards 218). His unwillingness to tell his Norah or Paul what he had done led to the

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ultimate destruction of his family as he continued to believe that withholding the truth would still
be best even at their current situation. Although this burden took a major toll on Dr. Henrys life,
he made several attempts to make amends. Throughout the course of Phoebes life, Caroline
would send Dr. Henry updates on her life, how she was doing, what was going on, etc. In return,
Dr. Henry would continue to send financial support. As he began to reflect on his life, he also
made the decision to care for a young, pregnant woman, named Rosemary because he felt drawn
to her, like there was something familial about her. He played a major part in her life as he paid
for her medical expenses, made her living arrangements, and played a part in raising her son.
Before Phoebe was born, he had been building his career, which he continued to do, once he got
his life somewhat together. However, he wanted to build his career in a less traditional way, by
offering free services to those whose insurance could not cover it. In his will, he left his fortune
to Phoebe and Rosemarys son, Jack. Later in life, Dr. David Henry went back to his original
goal of trying to Fix the world (Edwards 140). When one has made a mistake, it is a natural
instinct to try to fix it, in order to redeem themselves and reverse the damage caused.
Unfortunately, some things cannot be fixed; it is never too late to learn from a mistake and make
better choices and decisions in the future.
The Memory Keepers Daughter, written by Kim Edwards, emphasizes the importance of
honesty, no matter what the circumstances. This story explains the burdens and negative
consequences, of keeping a secret. As previously explained, having to keep Phoebes existence
from his family a secret ultimately tore his family apart, a fate he had been trying to prevent,
which contributes to the overall purpose. There is simply no good that can come out of keeping
secrets from those you love and from those who love you.

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Works Cited
Edwards, Kim. The Memory Keepers Daughter. New York: Penguin Group, 2006. Print.
James, Susan Donaldson. "Down Syndrome Births Are Down in U.S." ABC News. ABC News
Network, 02 Nov. 2009. Web. 24 Jan. 2015.
"Kevin Conroy Quote." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2015.