Educated - Tara Westover

Educated by Tara Westover
Genre: Memoir

Blurb (on back of book): Tara Westover was 17 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.

MY OPINION: *****

I read this book for school but I ended up really enjoying it. We were forced to pick a memoir for our English class, and as this book has been on my to-read for a long time, I decided to stick with it.

I've also heard RAVING reviews about it from my English teacher, my friends, and Goodreads.

I loved this book. It was genuine, eye-opening, and beautifully-written. Westover is an amazing writer. All of the words flowed so perfectly and everything that she wrote added to the story. Nothing was unnecessary. If a single sentence had been missing, the book would have been incomplete.

Prior to my reading of this book, I had only ever heard of Mormonism. I had no idea what it was and never thought I would need to. And while this may not apply to me in real life, I did truly enjoy learning all about the religion.

The anecdotes throughout this book were both tragic and beautiful. They told of such harrowing and scary moments in Westover's life, and they made me truly feel for her and her life. Her brother, Shawn, was the scariest out of everything in this book, and I truly hope that was all resolved now. Even if they're your family, you need to learn when your home life is not safe and you need to do something about it.

I would write more, but I have loads of homework. I just wanted to say that I truly enjoyed every aspect of this book and am interested in reading it again in the future. I would recommend this book to readers looking for a beautiful, sad, honest memoir about Mormonism, religion, family, and what it means to be educated.

Main Character: Tara
Sidekick(s): Family (for the most part), especially Tyler, Robert, etc
Villain(s): Shawn, being different, lack of school, Mormon beliefs that change her father's perception of society, etc
Memoir Elements: This book was written about a specific person's life and was honest and authentic.