What is the goal in The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards?

Question

I'm doing an analysis sheet on this book, and don't understand the goal.

Answer 1

The doctor thinks that the baby will have a better home, he is not sure if he can accept a baby that has Down syndrome.

This stunning novel begins on a 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 motives 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. Compulsively readable and deeply moving, The Memory Keeper's Daughter is a brilliantly crafted story of parallel lives, familial secrets, and the redemptive power of love.

http://www.memorykeepersdaughter.com/

Answer 2

I'm guessing that by 'the goal' you mean 'the message' or 'theme' of The Memory Keeper's Daughter.

I think it is that a person's child is to be cherished by his or her parent, no matter what. That a parent has a responsibility to give unconditional love, even with discipline necessary to teach a child simple manners. 'Love' for one's children is the theme. And the child can, yes, be adopted and be loved just as much: unconditionally.

My child has a birth defect, and one parent passed away, but another step-parent remains fiercely loyal, and our daughter is a wonderful adult now, a giving and (I think) brilliant person.