From the back cover: It is winter night in 1964, when a blizzard forces Dr. David Henry to deliver his own twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy, but the doctor immediately recognizes that his daughter has Down syndrome. For motive he tells himself are good, he makes a split-second decision that will haunt all their lives forever. He asks his nurse, Caroline, to take the baby away to an institution. Instead, she disappears into another city to raise the child as her own.
It`s a wonderful and heartbreaking story and it`s long ago since I`ve been so utterly captivated by a book.
How is it possible that a person like Dr. Henry can live with such a haunting secret?

RELEASE NOTES:

in a niche

Wow! My second real catch! This was so exciting... ok, I did have some insider information, in that I did know where to look, but we ended up getting to Luzern later than planned and it was still there - felt like a first Christmas present - and it's a book I've had my eye on for a while. This was the first time one of the release alerts I get served a purpose... I embarrassed my family by jumping around a bit in joy - but they're used to me, I guess. (although kids hate it when mothers are embarrassing...)
Thanks so much, Dubly, for leaving this great book for me to find!

Read in Mallorca.
This was a bookcrossing find - with a hint telling me where I'd be likely to find it - in the alcove of a building near the covered bridge in Luzern. It came down to Mallorca a while ago, and finally got picked up and read now. For some reason, I never really pondered what it was about. What a surprise to discover it was mainly set in Lexington, Kentucky, and part of it at a time I actually lived there. So there was an added layer of enjoyment to this book, reading about places and times I knew and hadn't thought about much in the intervening years.
The story itself is bleak and somewhat blankets everything with melancholy, like the blizzard at the beginning... At times the arrogance and master of the universe side to Henry had me gnashing my teeth. What a spider web he's woven for himself and his family! It's all quite credible - like a car crash - and it seems to me a good shake was missing, but that's not the way life works. A somber book, well-written, with strong characters, but tough.

This has travelled from Switzerland to France by car and now takes advantage of the French book rate to travel as an RABCK to Germany! Enjoy!

And here it is!
thanks so much for sending it my way. Now I am in a dilemma - should I read this first or "attack" the other book you sent me?!
Decisions decisions.......