Educated: A Memoir

Genre: Non-Fiction

This is the true life-story of Tara Westover, raised by parents who are staunch believers of the Mormon faith and have taken their faith many steps beyond its intended purpose, and used it as an excuse to reign holy hell over their family. Tara and her six siblings are raised believing that governments, medical institutions, and non-believers are out to ruin and possibly, hurt the family, and it is of the utmost importance that they avoid these institutions and people at all cost. And, indeed, Tara and her siblings are, for a time, home schooled (if you call homeschooling having some books on a shelf in the basement and having the kids read the books on their own every so often) and avoid visiting doctors, even when they are in desperate need of medical attention (which seems to be much too often). Tara lives a life of deprivation and great physical abuse and neglect but pulls herself out of that hell to come out of the other side as a well-educated and successful woman. Through the use of her journal entries and her memories she tells how being a part of an institution didn't just teach her how to multiply fractions or write a good college essay or even to inoculate her as an adult, but gave her the tools to understand her family and ultimately herself.

Westover begins this book by saying that "This story is not about Mormonism. Neither is it about any other form of religious belief...", but I think that it sure is about God. I am a staunch believer in making things happen in life and working hard for the things we want (yes, luck and timing have a lot to do with it). But the thing that I take away from this really interesting, well-written account of Westover's life is that some members of this family, if not all, should have died many times over, from the stories of abuse and blatant neglect! Despite the abuse, rage and miseducation the children all suffered at home, Westover and some of her siblings end up attending college and some actually become close friends. There are some things we can control, but this is the work of miracles! This story of abuse, neglect and horror could have gone in so many directions. But, Westover chooses to focus on the many positives in life. She had no control over how her parents parented or whether the world would be kind to her, she could only control what she could control. And she did. And she succeeded. This is a great read!