Educated

I really didn't want to read this book. I'm not usually a fan of memoirs and I thought this book had way too much hype. But, my book club picked it out and since I started the book club, I figured I should be a good sport. I was blown away. I can't imagine growing up the way Tara did and still managing to earn a PhD. I think I hated nearly everyone in this book for enabling abuse and ignorance and chaos. Tara has extraordinary strength and self-conviction.

I was so fascinated by this book, I gave play-by-play recaps to my husband, my hair stylist, my coworkers, my relatives, my friends, random people at the grocery store. I also googled all the family members and their essential oils business. What can I say? I'm nosy.

This was...fine. I'm truly sorry for Westover's experiences as horrific as they were. I don't find them to be as unbelievable as some have and, bring familiar with LDS culture, I can see how her childhood trauma could have slipped through the cracks. That being said, I simply didn't enjoy the storytelling. I felt like Westover gives scant credit to anyone but herself for her ultimate educational success. While it may be true that she received no formal homeschooling, her two older brothers' examples of achieving higher education surely must have inspired and prepared her at least a little bit. I also find it difficult to completely accept all of her claims while simultaneously ignoring the many, many counter claims on the part of friends, family members, clergy, neighbors, etc who have come forward in defense of her family. As with any memoir, I imagine that the objective truth lies somewhere in the middle.

There’s so much to say, but more than anything, it has renewed my appreciation of and thankfulness for my education. It’s easy to assume that everyone operates off of the same baseline knowledge, but that’s not the reality in which a lot of people exist. This is a must read.

This book is riveting and disturbing. The author grew up unschooled and largely off the grid. Her father was a survivalist and conspiracy theorist; the kids worked in his junkyard with inadequate safety protection. Injuries were treated with herbs and faith rather than going to medical professionals. One of her brothers abused her physically and emotionally.

Eventually, she studies and goes off to university. After some really bumpy spots that have to do with not knowing how to fit in and not feeling that she belongs, she has some significant academic successes. Over the same span of time, she becomes estranged from much of her family as they close ranks with the abusive sibling.

This is an unusual life, well told, with honest and forthright examination of her own processes of growth and change. It was hard to put down but also an emotionally challenging read.

Content warning: abuse and neglect

This book was something. Coming from a homeschooled family that wasn't fucking crazy, Tara's story is one of the only images that come to peoples mind when you heard "homeschooled" in the 2010's.

So many of the spots in this book just disappointed, upset, and frustrated me.

Wow. I really got inspired with this book and had so many emotions. the complicated relationship Tara has with her family, her faith and her education was so hard to read. I related with so many things on this book including the superstition her family has, abusive relationship with a family member, paranoia and mental illness. A great memoir I recommend for everyone to read.

This book has an interesting, capitivating writing style, but the restrained way she talks about such incredible abuse also very well done. It would have been so easy to be really emotional about her childhood, but she presents it without much commentary, which helps the reader make her own conclusions.

From a homeschool mom, I enjoyed the harsh reality of this book

Educated beautifully describes how it feels to grow up in a family that's dominated by trauma and mental illness, and how the drive for knowledge and independence can ultimately save us. I appreciated Tara Westover's ability to describe the complicated love that exists in her family, the constant pull she felt to take care of them, and the cycle of grief and fear she experienced, even as she broke free. She also captured the loneliness and vulnerability many people feel when their parents fail to protect them, and the comfort that comes from finding friends who become our chosen family.