Educated - Tara Westover

⭐ 9.5/10

(Originally written by Magdalene)

This is a memoir about a girl growing up in a fundamental Mormon home, where her parents didn't believe in education or medicine/doctors, but she ends up making her way to college and getting a PhD. The book draws some obvious parallels to The Glass Castle, since in a lot of ways their parents were similar, although Tara's parents were much more religious.

Tara has lots of stories about near-fatal injuries that she and her family members incurred, resulting in life-long harm because they weren't treated properly, plus the emotional abuse from her parents and physical abuse from a brother. It's... pretty bleak. But still so gripping, especially as Tara somehow finds the wherewithal to escape and get an education. She tells the stories in a fairly detached voice, admitting when her memories aren't completely clear. Even as she gets out from under her parents' thumb, the journey of healing from the trauma is long and fascinating. She's honest about how hard it is to change your thinking after years of indoctrination and brain-washing about doctors and purity and all of the other crazy ideas her parents had.

I couldn't stop reading this once I started. Tara is obviously brilliant (she went to Cambridge and Harvard after only starting school at 17!), and her story is almost unbelievable. If you've read The Glass Castle, this will feel very familiar to a certain point, but adding religion and more trauma and abuse into the story still adds an extra element that still made it feel fresh.