Tara Westover: Educated

This is a book that I use in my AP class. I've been looking for an excuse to read it for a long time, as it's always sounded interesting.

Tara Westover grew up in Idaho. Her parents were something of doomsday preparers, taking the religion of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to an extreme. They believed fervently in preparing for the End Times, stockpiling food, fuel, and other supplies, and making their best effort to go off grid. Westover's father also deeply mistrusted the U.S. government and what he called "the Medical Establishment." Even after horrendous accidents, the family rarely visited hospitals or saw doctors. Westover was also kept out of school. Things began to change for her once she started suffering horrific abuse from her older brother Shawn. After taking the ACT, and earning a scholarship to BYU, Westover started to realize that the world was so much wider than her father's. As she discovered herself, she lost her family, finally being ostracized from them.

I found this book fascinating. I'm always really intrigued by these stories of people who live on the fringes of society. I loved her writing style - her descriptions of places and people was beautiful. The prologue was one of my favorite parts of the book. I also loved the way she qualified her memories with her footnotes. I was also really moved by her mental health discussion. She was very open about her unraveling as she struggled with her rejection by her family. I found this book really moving.

I have very few complaints about this book. The only thing I didn't like was occasionally, Westover chooses to tell the story out of order. Occasionally, it was distracting, and a little confusing.

I loved this book.

I rated it: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

PG-13 - violence, abuse

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