The Unfinished Child
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4.2 • 9 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Finalist for a 2014 Alberta Literary Award
Shortlisted for the 2014Edmonton Public Library Alberta Readers’ Choice Award
Fans of Kim Edwards' The Memory Keeper's Daughter will love this unforgettable and inspiring tale about the complex bonds of family, friendship, and motherhood.
When Marie MacPherson, a mother of two, finds herself unexpectedly pregnant at thirty-nine, she feels guilty. Her best friend, Elizabeth, has never been able to conceive, despite years of fertility treatments. Marie's dilemma is further complicated when she becomes convinced something is wrong with her baby. She then enters the world of genetic testing and is entirely unprepared for the decision that lies ahead.
Intertwined throughout the novel is the story of Margaret, who gave birth to a daughter with Down syndrome in 1947, when such infants were defined as "unfinished" children. As the novel shifts back and forth through the decades, the lives of the three women converge, and the story speeds to an unexpected conclusion.
With skill and poise, debut novelist Theresa Shea dramatically explores society's changing views of Down syndrome over the past sixty years. The story offers an unflinching and compassionate history of the treatment of people with Down syndrome and their struggle for basic human rights. Ultimately, The Unfinished Child is an unforgettable and inspiring tale about the mysterious and complex bonds of family, friendship, and motherhood.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The birth and death of Carolyn Harrington, a girl with Down syndrome, are at the heart of this complex and sensitive debut novel set in Edmonton, Alberta. The medical establishment of 1947 regards baby Carolyn as an "unfinished child" and persuades her parents, Margaret and Donald, to place her in an institution where conditions turn out to be appalling. More than 50 years later, two Edmonton women in their late 30s confront issues that might destroy their lifelong friendship: just as Elizabeth Crewes gives up trying to have a baby after years of treatments for unexplained infertility, Marie MacPherson discovers to her surprise that she is pregnant with her third child, and then, following prenatal testing, that the child has Down syndrome. Shea develops the friendship between Marie and Elizabeth with insight into the competing desires of two women whose perfectionism makes them want to control the size of their families and the shape of their lives. At times, the exposition of the many medical issues Shea addresses in this novel can weigh down the dialogue, particularly in conversations between the women and their husbands. Yet the various strands of the plot come together in a gripping climax, raising compelling questions about moral responsibility in a 21st-century world that offers more choices than were available to the Harringtons decades before.
Customer Reviews
Great book
Enjoyed the journey of learning more about institutions and the daunting tasks of true friendship in different situations