Review - Educated: A Memoir

Educated: A Memoir
by Tara Westover
released 2/20/2018
352 pages
Chapters:  short
Rating:  5 out of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the wonderful people at Penguin Random House and NetGalley in exchange for a review.  The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Before I received this book, I hadn't read a summary of it - I assumed that it would be lighthearted stories from a teacher about funny things her students had done.  So you can imagine my surprise when I dove into this memoir.  Since I'm not sure I can accurately summarize this book, I'll share with you the publisher's summary, which reads as follows:

"Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her “head-for-the-hills bag.” In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father’s junkyard.

Her father forbade hospitals, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent.

Then, lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home.

Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty, and of the grief that comes with severing the closest of ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one’s life through new eyes, and the will to change it."

As a disclaimer, I'd like to point out this book contains frequent and graphic depictions of domestic abuse and violence.  It is difficult to read at times, but in my opinion, it is all necessary to the story.  Without a true understanding of the author's childhood, it would be difficult to appreciate this memoir.

It truly is a magnificent story.  Westover has a voice unlike any other author I have ever read.  She is able to speak authentically both as a sheltered teenager and a worldy PhD holder.  The author somehow finds a way to express the vile, hateful way she was treated by her family, but at the same time allow these characters to still remain human to the reader.  She manages to write about ugly things in a beautiful way.

Westover also manages to seamlessly intertwine multiple "morals" (if you will) into the story.  Educated incorporates the importance of education, mental illness, family relationships, surviving abuse, and the power of forgiveness all into one coming of age story.

It's also important to point out that, while the family considers themselves Mormon fundamentalists, the book never comes across as if the author is trying to make a negative statement against the religion itself.  The author could have easily turned this memoir into a manifesto speaking out against her family's religious beliefs, and I really admire that she had the restraint to not do so.  

I'm not sure that I can properly articulate just how much this book touched me.  It is beautifully written and truly has something to teach all readers.  I highly recommend this book.

If you're interested in reading this book, consider using my link to purchase is from Amazon (and help me get more books).