Educated was recommended to me by my sister, it's one of her all-time favorite books and it really helped her to look at her own family relationships with new perspective. It is not the easiest book to read, it deals with adult/minor relationships, animal cruelty and death, body shaming, bullying, cancer, child abuse, emotional and physical abuse, gun violence, mental illness, misogyny, panic attacks, racial slurs and racism, sexism, toxic relationships, medical content and trauma, grief, multiple car accidents, pregnancy, fire injury, and gaslighting, all of which are made harder knowing that they come from real life experience.
Tara Westover grew up the youngest of six siblings in Idaho, with a father who distrusted the government, progressively becoming more and more closed off from society. Because of this, Tara was never enrolled in public school by her parents and in fact, does not know the exact date of her birth (it's sometime in late September). Even so, Tara managed to sit for the tests you would have taken late in high school and enroll herself in college. She managed to graduate from Brigham Young University and continue her education through scholarships to Cambridge and Harvard, eventually receiving her Doctorate from Cambridge University, all while learning about who she was and that her family did not always have her best interests at heart.
This book is not a happy book, but it was interesting and inspiring. I appreciated the nuance that Tara tried to give to her story, showing that her family did love her and that she did love them, but sometimes that love is not enough. There were some difficult examples of physical abuse that Tara experienced from the hands of her older brother and she goes into some detail when it comes to injuries from both fire and car accidents. I appreciated that Tara gave footnotes where her memories differ from those of her siblings or other people and it really felt like she was trying to tell a complete, unabridged, honest story. The writing was very well done, it was not hard to get through and read more like a novel than a memoir.
I'm giving Educated by Tara Westover 4.25 out of 5 stars. Not a light read but it was very inspiring to see the path that Tara managed to pick out for herself, finding people who were willing and able to support her on the way, sometimes believing in her even when she did not believe in herself. This book will make you feel like anything is possible and even though it took me awhile since I had to read it in small sections, I'm happy that I read it and the story will really stick with me.
For more information about the author, see her website at https://tarawestover.com/
Pairs well with biscuits and gravy and a pep-talk about what a boss you are!
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