Educated - Tara Westover

This book came from book club and had actually been recommended by someone at work as well. It reminded me a bit of The Glass Castle.

This is the life story of Tara Westover from her perspective. I learned after reading the book that there is some controversy around her presentation of her family, though she does point out in the book that these are her memories and while she has conferred with some of her brothers on the stories, she may not always have everything correct.

Tara grows up in Idaho in a Mormon family that becomes more extreme as the years go by. She is the youngest of seven children. The oldest three were raised "normally" for awhile, having birth certificates and going to school. Her father becomes more extreme and turns to survivalism, believing the world as they know it will end. Much time is spent canning food, storing fuel, and preparing for the end of the world. Tara's parents don't believe it hospitals, so any injury or sickness is treated with natural oils and remedies. The youngest children have never attended school and while their mother had intentions of home schooling them, it often doesn't happen. All the children are taught to read, but after that the education basically stops.

The family makes its income by scrapping at the dump, building sheds, and through midwifery. All the children are expected to work. If any of them want to go to school, they can ask, but their father will discourage it. One of Tara's brothers, Tyler builds the courage to tell his father he's going to college and leaves.

We learn about another of Tara's brothers, Shawn, who we quickly see is abusive towards her and other women, and Richard who eventually goes to college as well. Her sister Audrey married and had children and works with their mother at their essential oil business.

Tara left home to go to college at 17. She had never been in a school before and was very ignorant of many events that happened in the world. The one that stood out to me was not being aware of the holocaust and asking a professor what the word meant. After realizing she didn't know something important, she went to research it and began to understand that there was so much she didn't know. Tara had little family support to be at college, so she had to work for scholarships and eventually was convinced to apply for a government grant despite her family's mistrust of the government. After graduating from college, she went on to do her master's at Cambridge and also spent some time at Harvard. She ended up with her PhD. And so did two of her brothers, which seems amazing coming from a family that discouraged education.

Tara described many shocking events and while she eventually left the family, she did say many times how much she loved them. The book says she hasn't spoken to her family in years, other than a few of her siblings, and after reading the book, it seems that was a good thing for her.

There are so many things I could write about this book, but I think it would be better to read it for yourself and make your own conclusions. I was shocked at what she went through, but then after doing a bit more reading on comments from her family, I wondered a bit at the truthfulness of the book. If nothing else, the book shows how far we can go if we are determined.