Worthy of every bit of hype, "Educated" is as moving as it is incisive. This one is going to stay with me for a very long time.

Tara Westover has produced an intimate and engaging memoir about her childhood in Educated, a thorough look at her upbringing in a radically conservative Mormon household. Westover was brought up by god fearing parents, her dad believing in the end of days and preparing accordingly, and believing the medical and academic 'establishments' were institutions of brainwashing and corruption. Westover and her siblings were brought up working in the scrapyard, hauling metal and putting themselves in unendingly dangerous situations, exacerbated by an abusive father and brother, and the lack of medical resources available to them aside from Westover's mother's holistic and 'energy' healing, used to treat anything from the most minor pain to third degree burns.

'We had been bruised and gashed and concussed, had our legs set on fire and our heads cut open. We had lived in a state of constant terror, our brains flooding with cortisol because we knew that any of those things might happen at any moment.'

What resonated with me deeply in this novel was Westover's recounting of her mental state as a result of severe emotional abuse, and how she had to navigate her own psyche in order to extricate herself from the tendrils of this abuse, neglect, and shame. Westover described the toll emotional abuse has on a person with such concision and clarity, and I found myself nodding along as she described the process of counselling, the difficulty as others tried to help her but she was buried too deeply, the moment when you realise you've unravelled yourself from someone's clutches enough that, while always affected by the past, you can't be brought under their thumb again.

Not everything is this dark, however. Westover's descriptions of Buck Peak, the cyclical nature of time and seasons out in the country, and her discoveries of the world as she travels to university, then Cambridge, then Rome, are so positive and exceptionally readable.

<a href="https://amzn.to/2uXD378" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Educated</em></a> by Tara Westover is a memoir about domestic violence (the story about a Mormon girl getting an education is secondary).

I'm unapologetic about that spoiler and feel cranky that publicists and reviewers have failed to mention, or have simply skimmed over, the horrific physical, psychological and financial abuse that dominates Westover's memoir.

According to the blurb, the book focuses on Westover's childhood and early adulthood, and her experiences growing up with survivalist Mormon parents in the mountains of Idaho.
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>I am only seven, but I understand that it is this fact, more than any other, that makes my family different: we don't go to school.</em><!--more--></p>
Instead of going to school, her days were spent salvaging in her father's junkyard or helping her mother, a midwife and healer, prepare herbs. In her late teens, Westover began educating herself and was admitted to Brigham Young University - she was 17 and had never set foot in a classroom, did not know what the Holocaust or civil rights movement was, and had never visited a doctor.

Although the strictures of Westover's Mormon upbringing and the paranoia of her survivalist father provide a riveting backdrop, this memoir is about trauma and its ripple effect. Westover is abused by her brother, Shawn, and her father. The abuse is physical and psychological. The abuse is relentless and taints every single moment of every single day. Shawn, typical of his type, switches between violence and begging for forgiveness. His cruelty and anger spark off the page. Westover's father favours different weapons - shame, guilt and verbal threats, which ultimately manifest in almost unbelievable workplace and car accidents.

While expectations in Westover's family may have been different from the norm - for example placing women in a subservient role; denying her an education; believing in herbal healing, not Western medicine - her experience of domestic violence is 'universal'. The terror, the self-blame, and the constant cycle of abuse and regret/forgiveness.
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>It's comforting to think the defect is mine, because that means it is under my power.</em></p>
Regardless of the misleading premise of <em>Educated</em>, the book is compelling and well-written (although I sensed a touch of the <a href="https://booksaremyfavouriteandbest.wordpress.com/2016/05/03/a-million-little-pieces-by-james-frey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James-Freys</a> when I got to the bit about her father and a fire). While there is a conclusion to Westover's story (she attends prestigious universities), I couldn't help but feel there is much left unresolved - even up until the end of the book, Westover was making allowances for Shawn, explaining his behaviour. Equally, revelations about her father's mental health (that he is bipolar) were presented as an explanation.
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>...vindication has no power over guilt. No amount of anger or rage directed at others can subdue it, because guilt is never about them. Guilt is the fear of one's own wretchedness. It has nothing to do with other people.</em></p>
But there are no excuses. None.

3/5 The blurb misrepresents this book - it should come with trigger warnings.

I received my copy of <em>Educated </em>from the publisher, Random House, via<a href="https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/124039" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> NetGalley</a>, in exchange for an honest review.

Powerful subject and an equally powerful story. It is a pretty good book.
I shy away from judging books based on someone's personal experience, so I am just going to stick to that.
I will be paying close attention to Tara Westover's work from now on for sure.

Absolutely amazing story. Tara shares her childhood secluded from education and people in her community because her dad fears the government. This is one of my favorite books for 2018 and I have already recommended it to several of my friends who have enjoyed it as well.

I really love this book!!! 10/10! Very very interesting and compelling and kept me captivated throughout the entire book.

The first third of this book was enjoyable, but then it began a downward spiral in terms of writing quality... There were some elements that felt a bit implausible and it didn't help that I felt fairly disconnected from the narrator - this becomes problematic when reading a memoir. I guess this just wasn't the book for me and I'm not sure that I understand all of the hype surrounding it.

A fascinating and unforgettable memoir by an author who writes very well and knows how to tell her truth the way she remembers it. The very idea that Ms. Westover could have survived this type of upbringing to then take the world of academia by storm is incredible, and she deserves much respect for her bravery and achievements. Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my review copy. This is my honest opinion.

Wow. Tara Westover’s “Educated” was phenomenal. Not only was it beautifully, and skillfully written, but the cadence and flow kept me coming back, chapter after chapter, even when I was only going to read one before bed.

Westover’s questions about identity, memory, and history are some of the most through provoking of any I have read in 2018 (or in a far longer time, to be frank).

“Educated” takes the read on a very personal and intimate journey as a young girl struggles to reconcile her thoughts and memories and fears for her personal safety with loyalty to her family, her faith, and the education her life on the mountain has provided.

Beautiful. I will read anything Westover publishes.

Educated by Tara Westover is a powerful book that is emotionally difficult to read and impossible to put down. I only read memoirs by authors who have extraordinary stories to tell and ‘Educated’ is one of the stories.

When I say it is difficult to read, I mean that the story itself reaches into your soul. Your emotions run the gamut. There is awe, doubt, compassion, empathy, frustration, anger, disbelief, hesitation, vexation, sorrow, heartbreak, and bewilderment. There is no sugar-coating in this story. Be prepared for that. Ms. Westover tells her story straight out through her own reflections and horrible experiences of growing up in a hugely dysfunctional family some of whose members suffer from mental illness and some of whom are just complicit to the whims of those in the family with mental illness and violence.

Unfortunately as readers, we watch the painful attempts of Ms. Westover trying to break free from her family’s toxic environment. I mourned her inability to stop returning to the ‘scene of the crime’. Until the end of the book she still is seeking approval and acceptance. Seeking to be re-engaged with this dysfunctional family. I suppose along with her education it would take many, many years of therapy to overcome her childhood or lack thereof. As a reader you find yourself cheering her on as she achieves educational degree after educational degree. However, there is a part of me that believes she will always be broken and I am heartbroken over that

Thank you to Random House, Tara Westover and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Educated by Tara Westover

This book is incredible - it’s wild and almost unbelievable. I had to stop and remind myself this was a true story multiple times.

Tara wraps the reader in her perspective of her entire childhood so neutrally that it takes a while to realize whether or not she agrees with how she was raised.

Her fractured relationship with her family has its ups and downs and I’ll leave it at that.

The title is more than about her formal education, in fact, it almost takes a back seat to all she learned from her life in the mountains.

Highly recommend!!

This is a profoundly moving memoir that is a testament to the human spirit to rise above adversity. Tara Westover shares her experience of growing up in family where the parents cast a distrustful eye towards government. All of the normal events and activities we do (driver's licenses, birth certificates, attending school, etc.) are not part of Tara's life. Her and her siblings are raised by a mother who's the local midwife and a father who is obsessed with prepping for the End of the World.
Does Tara succeed at climbing out of this totally dysfunctional family?
What price is paid when warning signs are ignored?
When does a person cross that thin line between fanaticism and mental illness?
A heartwrenching, frustrating and, at times, angering read, this sobering book is a must-read.
I received an Advance Review Copy. All opinions are my own.

A well-written and engaging narrative of an amazing woman and her “education.” This was an enjoyable and interesting read.

As an educator, this book caught my attention right away. While it didn't fit the definition of formal education, I was nonetheless interested in the way the family was "homeschooled." Without traditional books, the family relied on religious beliefs of the father and herbal remedies of their mother to see them through their childhood. It was at moments disturbing to read about injuries incurred because of a father's disinterest in their welfare. The topic of mental illness also caught my attention, it was laid out in raw honesty, never apologizing for the gritty reality, never caring how it made someone look. This book was an education. We don't always get perfect grades and pass every test, but in life, every arena we enter has the potential to be a classroom. It's what we do with our education in the classroom that matters.

This was not the book for me. I have heard so many amazing reviews about this book, but once I started it, it was so hard to get interested in. I stopped reading it and then tried to come back and read it again and I still felt the same. This author’s writing style is probably just not one that I can get on board with.

Well this book made me need to talk about it with others that had read it! I wasn’t even 30 percent into the book and couldn’t hold back! I turned to FB and some of my book friends on pages so I could find people who had read it already! I was so angry at so many things that went on in this book, that I felt like maybe I was overreacting! After talking to a bunch of other readers, I felt I was not! I have nothing against Mormons, but the author’s father was a zealot, who put his family in danger so often it was crazy. This book was so good, but about things that were so sad. I couldn’t even imagine that in this day and age, that there are people who not only don’t send their children to school, but don’t home school them either! I’m so happy for the author and some of her siblings, that they were able to get out from under the spell of that house! I was lucky to get this book through Netgalley.

Tara Westover grew up unschooled and only educated in the rudimentary academic basics. How this woman was able to over come the craziness of her family and upbringing is still a mystery to me even after reading the memoir. She explained it well, but her drive and desire to learn was all encompassing. It should be standard reading for high school. Really, if she can overcome all her disadvantages, so can so many others.

5 BIG Stars! Some serious 😮 WOW. I saw this going around among my GoodReads friends, but hesitated to request it from NetGalley. While I like memoirs, I was a bit afraid this story was too upsetting. After quite a few outstanding reviews, I decided to see if I could pick it up. SOOOOOOOOOO very glad I did! I got it after the publish date and then put it off....still kinda afraid of my own emotions while reading it. It is not an easy story I must tell you. But, I am thrilled I read it.

What an amazing survival story. I know no one who had to grow up like Tara did. My childhood was so far from this I can't even relate. I am not sure I would even believe it if I didn't trust some of my GR friends and their 5 stars reviews. It's just so good! Painful, scary, difficult, intense, unbelievable, incredible, good, wonderful, strong, and unstoppable. I highly recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for a digital copy to review. Might be my best read for 2018! I will be thinking on this one for a long time.

Pithy and excruciatingly honest, Tara Westover's memoir was well worth reading, but difficult to fathom. The author's childhood was spent largely working in her father's salvage and construction businesses, AND homeschooling was limited, sporadic, incidental. Extreme views and expectations, endured violence, dominated family life. Following Tara's endeavors to become educated and find a place in the larger society is a memorable journey.

If you didn't know, "Educated" might appear to be fiction, but it is a memoir. Tara Westover was born in Idaho to parents who were survivalists. The family kept themselves so isolated that the children were not allowed to attend school or see doctors. If one of them became ill or was involved in an accident, herbal remedies were used.
The father prepared his family for the end of the world which could come at any moment.
When Tara's brother bravely left his environs, he discovered a world out there, unknown to any of them. That is when Tara embraced such an idea. Unbelievably, Tara escaped from the violent attacks of another brother, ventured out into the unknown, and went on to attain a PhD degree from Cambridge University.
This is an amazing coming-of-age story where determination and persistence won out. Fascinating read!