The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

I finally read the book.  This is a book you cannot pick up, flip to a page and start reading just to get an idea if you'll like it.  You have to start at the beginning otherwise the section you go to makes no sense and really sounds quite boring.  However, once you start the book you cannot put it down. 

Edwards writes a poignant story of a doctor who, in making a seemingly intelligent but rash decision, causes his family to fall apart.  25 years later the truth is out and the family is still torn.  For readers, at least this reader, we want the opportunities to tell the truth to blossom to fruition and frequently suffer disappointment.  For those of us with a family member with Down Syndrome, people are truly aggravating (beginning to end) in what they say and do in response to seeing Phoebe.  This includes the father and the mother. 

Kudos to Edwards for hitting on some of the pertinent issues that have come up in the last 4 decades.  She skims over mainstreaming education, medical issues, institutionalization, quality of life, pity, empathy, fear, family dynamics, needs/desires of the person with DS, and support groups.  While she doesn't go into depth (book is way too short), as an outsider, it seems normal.  In the end there are still unresolved issues.  Birth Mom goes away without resolving her feelings or her wants.  Big Brother acts like a guardian without any knowledge of guardianship, and Phoebe's ideal of marrying and having kids is never truly addressed.  Also, the title is not explained, and it takes a little thought to determine it's probably Caroline Gill, although she doesn't have as much angst as Birth Dad and Birth Mom.

A fast read, this book can put people on the path to past history regarding Down Syndrome, but leaves the reader without the current knowledge of Down Syndrome.  It also strongly suggests Down Syndrome is an inherited birth defect.  It also does not delve into the full range of medical issues that can arise, but only mentions some of the most common, thus misleading the reader into believing most with DS have heart issues and low capabilities, making Phoebe unusual.

The Body Farm

On the outskirts of the University of Tennessee research happens. It takes time, but then all the researchers have is time. It takes nature. It takes perseverance. It takes guts--literally and figuratively.

At the Body Farm, the research entails all manners of death. Bodies in trunks, hung from trees, wrapped in tarps and wrapped in comforters. Some are burned and some are wet. Some have been shot and some have been stabbed. Some aren't even whole bodies. All in the name of research. All in the name of science--forensic science.

There was an episode on CSI: Vegas were Grissom took a large pig and wrapped it in a blanket. Then he sat with it for days to see how long it took for flies and other crawlies to find their way to the pig. To devour the pig. All in the name of science. Pigs mimic humans quite closely.

Jefferson Bass, the team of Dr. Bill Bass and journalist Jon Jefferson, pull together mysteries on the level of Kathy Reichs and Patricia Cornwell. The main character, Dr. Bill Brockton, runs the farm and teaches classes at the university. In his free time, he aids local medical examiners and police departments in forensic detecting. These stories can get eerie and quiet gory. They are not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach, but they sure make for excellent reading! For the readers really curious, there are excerpts from the materials used in Dr. Brockton's classes.

Carved in Bone
Flesh and Bone

Starvation Heights by Gregg Olsen

YUCK! How would you like to "take" a cure for disease that meant you could not eat anything other than tomato water, aspargus water, oj, and daily enemas for nearly 2 months??! Claire & Dora Williamson did just that with horrible results. Certainly not the "cure" they were looking for when they started.

I just finished Starvation Heights. It's historical non-fiction about "Dr." Linda Burfield Hazzard's starvation diet and the death of a British heiress. It's set in Ollala, WA. Claire was just in her 30's when she died. Her sister Dora was rescued in time from the same fate and eventually, with the help of a family nanny, set in motion events that would cause the doctor to be convicted of manslaughter.

Written in 1997, it has not been greatly promoted in the Twin Cities. I would suggest to anyone interested in either the Pacific Northwest, Washington State, early 20th Century crime or weird medical fads to check this one out!