I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As a sister of a mentally challenged sibling and as a Nurse I could relate entirely to this book first hand. It did portray well the impact of the birth of this child with downs syndrome upon the father. He did want to protect his wife from …more the challenges and the heartache which accompanies raising a mentally challenged child. Speaking first hand this experience is one which either brings a family very close together or the marriage often does not last. It also has a profound effect upon the other children in the family as well. He was hoping to act in the best interest of his family but in doing so he had to live with the secrecy and guilt of his action, which led to the distancing and eventual estrangement and later divorce.

David then dies without ever being able to tell his wife or son that their daughter Phoebe was in fact still alive. My parents also eventually divorced and my father died a broken man at an early age guilt ridden all of those years as my sister was injured in an auto accident and he was the driver. I also had survivors guilt as I was also in the accident and was unscathed. My mother suffered a nervous breakdown and couldn't care for us. My maiden Aunt came to live with us to care for my sister for awhile which ended up being 30 years as my father didn't want my sister being cared for in an institution. My parents divorced, My father died, upon his death my mother was still mentally unstable.My younger brother died at age 29 in an auto accident drugs and alcohol related. My youngest brother turned to alcohol after the death of his father and brother but thankfully successfully completed rehab. My sister eventually was placed into a group home for mentally challenged adults and is thriving well there. The group homes of today are nothing like the Institutions of yesterday giving their clients the opportunity to live as independently as possible in a community setting. (less)