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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
Barely any
No graphic violence; emotional cruelty of a long deception
Language
Barely any
Mild language
Sexual Content
Barely any
Brief marital sexuality
Substance Use
Barely any
Alcoholism as a coping mechanism is a subplot
Emotional Intensity
A lot
Prolonged deception within a marriage; a wife's unresolved grief; the psychological cost of a life built on a lie
What this book is about
On a snowy night in 1964, Dr. David Henry delivers his own twins and discovers his daughter has Down syndrome. He makes a split-second decision—give her away and tell his wife she died—sending the girl with a nurse who raises her instead. Edwards's novel follows the ripple effects of that lie across 25 years: the family hollowed out by a secret grief, and the daughter's full, loving life her father never knew. A meditation on guilt, denial, and the families we make versus the ones we're given.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Prolonged deception within a marriage
Grief over a supposedly dead child
Alcoholism as a coping mechanism
Reader Verification
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