Stephanie Sullivan: Review - Educated: A Memoir

TITLE: Educated: A Memoir (audiobook)

RATING: ★★★★

Summary (from Goodreads): 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.

REVIEW: If there's one thing I can say with no hesitation that I honestly and truthfully understand, it's dysfunctional families. With that being said, there were many parts of this book I could identify with, which made it personal for me. Still, when it comes to having the most dysfunctional family I've ever read about, Tara Westover wins hands down. Her story drew me in right away. (Also, I highly recommend the audiobook version because the narrator, Julia Whelan, did an excellent job). I lost count of the number of times my jaw hit the floor, and I went through SO many emotions while listening to this book - anger, heartache, shock, disbelief, etc. Some of the things Tara went through with her family just blew me away and her amazing way with words made me feel like I was there witnessing it all. I can't recommend this book enough. Miss Westover is a wonderful writer, and I hope she decides to publish more books in the future.