Educated ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Educated by Tara Westover

There are a few other covers but nothing worthy of Cover Wars! One with a little girl on a swing and another with an school table/set in the middle of a field. If I were consulted (👀) I would made one with a little girl on a piece of heavy equipment in the scrap yard pile. 

G👀dreads

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.

Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography

The How/Why: I know, Memoir/Biography is not my usual niche. This one is brought to me by curiosity. In one of my FB book recommendation groups some said she thought it was boring and asked if anyone else had read it.
Let the tar and feathering being. EVERYONE who commented said things like "boring isn't a word anyone would use to describe this book. Its the complete opposite of boring", "It was one of my all time favorites", etc. etc. I'm usually the first one to say "not all books are for everyone, same as art, food, music, etc." but every single comment was giving this one high marks and defending it. So of course, I *HAD* to add it to my TBR list. Oh*AND* narrated by none other than Julia Whelan. 🎉
Overall rating on GR is 4.46 and it was a GR Choice Award Winner for Readers' Favorite Memoir & Autobiography 2018 (FWLTW). 

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🎉 Overall Enjoyment? 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 Another that's hard to rate as enjoyment when there was so much AbŲsɇ going on. 

🎣 Did it grab and keep my attention? 🎣🎣🎣🎣🎣

🗣️Would I recommend it to anyone? Yes ➕but check triᵷᵷer warninᵷS first

🕮 Would I want a sequel? No ➖ Not necessary

📚 Would I want to read more books by this author? Maybe 🤷 She hasn't published anything else however its been reported that she's working on a follow up book anticipated in 2027.

💣💥 📢 Content Warnings? Google says: Phƴsicąl and Em0tionąl AbŲsɇ.
I'll add ChïlƉ Lɐb0r (OSHA would not be pleased, safety standards were non-existent)

🌶 Spice? No

🌪 Plot Twist? No

👟 Pace? Good

💻 Tidbits ~ I was totally absorbed in this book! The only word that comes to mind is WOW! Okay, I have more words... Grab a beverage of choice, this one is wordy! 

We know from the About that she was raised by a radical survivalist and her parents didn't believe in mainstream medical or education with an absolute distrust for government. They lived off grid preparing for the End of Days. What it doesn't mention was that her father had strong beliefs in Mormonism which were very much a part of the story. There is an author's note in the beginning indicating that this book is not about Mormonism but more so her family experience. 

Her family experience was extreme to say the least. Her parents homeschooled their children but not in a structured fashion. They taught life's lessons according to their beliefs. When she finally took herself to school at 17, in class one day she told the professor "I don't know that word". Everyone became silent and after class her only new friend told her "don't joke about that" and walked away. The word: Holocaust. Her Father only told them what he wanted them to know. 

She was horribly AbŲsɇd by one of her older brothers both emotionally and physically. Her parents turned a blind eye. It was always "her fault" for making him mad or starting the altercation.

Not addressed in the book was ChïlƉ Lɐb0r or lack of workplace safety (OSHA). Her father owned a scrapyard business where the children worked. 

When she finally broke away she kept going back to try again. She knew her parents loved her in their own way and was sure all the problems were her fault. "Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results" comes to mind. They were never different results. Her parents came to the conclusion her non-compliance was because she was possessed by Sǟtǟn. 

Her perseverance was unending, even though she had no self confidence. She got herself through BYU, Cambridge, and Harvard with the help of scholarships, encouragement of her brother Tyler, a couple of friends she made in school, and the Professors who saw her intellectual potential and helped her obtain financial aid. 

Keep in mind this is her story and how she remembers her childhood and upbringing. I did appreciate when she would indicate when her brothers remembered something slightly different for the same events. For example who put the fire out, how did he get from the field to the house, etc. She would also indicate when she was paraphrasing a conversation and indicate it wasn't a direct quote.

My deeper dive: Typically I'd say "In real life..." but this book is real life. The names have been changed to protect the guilty. Tara used pseudonyms for the relatives she is estranged from, real names for those who were supportive of the book's publication*. This book was published in 2018. In 2020 her mother published Educating in response to Tara's claims, to "set the record straight" in accordance with her memories. Apparently it was an effort to justify their lifestyle and how they raised their children. Yes, there are always two sides of every story. With a 1.6 star review on GR (an overwhelming number of 1 star reviews), I won't be adding what appears to be a revenge novel to my TBR. Feel free to change my mind. I'm open to reconsidering.

*She remains estranged from her parents, her sister, and one brother. She has four other brothers whose real names were used in the memoir. 

🎧 Narrator: Julia Whelan - Excellent as always

🎧12.0 hours 🕮 335pages

Extra Tidbits - Here within lies the differences between Tara's book and her mother's: