Nonfiction

Educated

Educated

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-03-26 13:21:01
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Tara Westover
  • ISBN：0099511029
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Summary

Tara Westover grew up preparing for the End of Days， watching for the sun to darken， for the moon to drip as if with blood。 She spent her summers bottling peaches and her winters rotating emergency supplies， hoping that when the World of Men failed， her family would continue on， unaffected。

She hadn’t been registered for a birth certificate。 She had no school records because she’d never set foot in a classroom， and no medical records because her father didn’t believe in doctors or hospitals。 According to the state and federal government， she didn’t exist。

As she grew older， her father became more radical， and her brother， more violent。 At sixteen Tara decided to educate herself。 Her struggle for knowledge would take her far from her Idaho mountains， over oceans and across continents， to Harvard and to Cambridge。 Only then would she wonder if she’d travelled 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 the severing of the closest of ties。 With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers， from her singular experience 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。

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Reviews

Hannah Wieting ，

Goosebumps at the end。

Mayur ，

One of the best Memoir！

Angela ，

I'm not sure what I expected from this book but it turned out to be a very disturbing account of an irresponsible and abusive family。 What the author had to endure growing up in that environment and without any formal education was really incredible。 It was a hard to read at times， but in the end her drive to define herself independently from her family and her journey to earning a PhD was inspiring。 I'm not sure what I expected from this book but it turned out to be a very disturbing account of an irresponsible and abusive family。 What the author had to endure growing up in that environment and without any formal education was really incredible。 It was a hard to read at times， but in the end her drive to define herself independently from her family and her journey to earning a PhD was inspiring。 。。。more

Winter Rose ，

I like how the main characters met each other， I love the plot and everything about this book。 Good job writer！ If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on NovelStar， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top

Jensen Little Free Library ，

One of the best books I have ever read。 So thought provoking and inspirational。

Megan ，

Profound and heart-breaking。 Dr。 Tara Westover is an amazing individual。

Alanna Schwartz ，

A little late to the party on this one but really enjoyed it。 Extra spooky to read during a vaccine rollout。

Alexandra Engelmann ，

First， I strongly recommend you read this book， or listen to it， like I did。 I constantly found myself between disbelief that things this horrible actually happened， and amazement at all Tara went through。 Also， I LOVE her writers voice。 I often say that I love/hate books on how they are written。 My husband teases me all the time for loving big words。 I think Tara does a fabulous job of combining her intellectualism and her raw gift for weaving a story that kept me on the edge of my seat and com First， I strongly recommend you read this book， or listen to it， like I did。 I constantly found myself between disbelief that things this horrible actually happened， and amazement at all Tara went through。 Also， I LOVE her writers voice。 I often say that I love/hate books on how they are written。 My husband teases me all the time for loving big words。 I think Tara does a fabulous job of combining her intellectualism and her raw gift for weaving a story that kept me on the edge of my seat and coming back for more。 It only took me 4 days to finish。 （reminder- I have two small children， that is very fast for me）Next， as a Christian （Methodist） it is always interesting for me to read about the Mormon faith。 Now， I know this is not a good picture of the vast majority of the Mormon faith， and please don't think I am grouping them together。 It amazes me how in any religion one person can twist things and end up in the warped and dangerous place。 The oppression Tara experienced is not something I would wish on my worst enemy。 It is a miracle she has thrived in academia， and now with this book！Finally， my only complaint （but it's not even a real one）- I found myself rooting for Tara all the way through the book， but I wished for more closure。 HaHA！ It's a memoir; I know！ Her story is still going， and there is something very hopeful and happy about that！ This book is stranger than fiction， and I highly recommend you read it for yourself。 Thank you Tara for letting me see into your world and being brave enough to share it with us all。 I hope your story only gets better from here！ 。。。more

Jackson Flint ，

This is a remarkable book I came across which had put me in a roller coaster of emotions。 For someone unaware of some of her experiences， it's an opportunity to explore what it looks like to live with manipulative parents and beliefs that deny any truth other than their own。 Educated is primarily retrospective， consisting of Tara Westover's memories about her past。 She tells the story of the events of her life from a vantage point in her late twenties， occasionally interjecting to comment on th This is a remarkable book I came across which had put me in a roller coaster of emotions。 For someone unaware of some of her experiences， it's an opportunity to explore what it looks like to live with manipulative parents and beliefs that deny any truth other than their own。 Educated is primarily retrospective， consisting of Tara Westover's memories about her past。 She tells the story of the events of her life from a vantage point in her late twenties， occasionally interjecting to comment on the process of trying to arrive at an accurate version of the past。 Tara was born the youngest of seven children to parents whom she refers to as Faye and Gene （pseudonyms）。 The Westover family lived on a farm in rural Idaho， where Gene made a living salvaging scrap metal while Faye worked as an unlicensed midwife and herbal healer。 Gene suffered from paranoid fears about interference from the federal government， and as a result， he refused to allow his children to attend school， receive birth certificates， or receive medical attention。 Gene was also a devout Mormon who believed in radical self-sufficiency and an impending Day of Judgement。 Shifts in the Westover family dynamic began to emerge when Tara was about nine。 Her mother's work as a midwife increased her sense of independence， but after sustaining a serious and untreated brain injury in a car accident， Faye began to lose confidence in her skills and focused instead on using herbal remedies and a form of intuitive healing。 Around this time， Tyler （the third son） announced that he was going to attend college， which estranged him from his family。 Tyler's absence forced Tara to become more involved in helping her father with his scrapping work， which left her constantly exposed to the possibility of dangerous injury。 It also made her more curious about possibly pursuing an education herself。 When Tara was ten， she told her disapproving father that she wanted to begin going to school， but nothing came of the idea。 It was this dilemma that helped make J。 D。 Vance’s “Hillbilly Elegy” a runaway bestseller in 2016， the tale of a young man who had overcome the dysfunctions of his transplanted Appalachian family to ascend to the Ivy League and Silicon Valley， with plenty of cultures shocks along the way。 Yet Tara Westover’s new tale of escape， “Educated”， makes Vance's novel seem tame by comparison。 Where Vance wrote affectingly of showing up at Ohio State and Yale Law with the limited preparation provided by his middling schools in Middletown， Ohio， Westover describes showing up in college with no schooling at all。 Where Vance describes a family contending with the all-too-common burdens of substance abuse， Westover lays bare a family cursed by ideological mania and outlandish physical trauma。 In Educated， Westover describes a deeply troubling childhood whose lasting impact simply cannot be denied。 Whether the story is exaggerated or not， if even a quarter of what happened to her were true， it would still be deemed highly traumatic， to say the least。 The sheer number of times of witnessing burns， bloodied family members， and multiple car crashes is enough to give any individual PTSD。 Westover ended up overcoming these tragedies and I am glad she finally managed to accept the changes in her life and start embracing a world which she thought is better。 I would recommend to everyone to read this book！ 。。。more

Carly ，

Educated is easily one of the best， most harrowing， beautiful books I've read in my life。 I cannot recommend this enough。 Educated is easily one of the best， most harrowing， beautiful books I've read in my life。 I cannot recommend this enough。 。。。more

Cecily Nordstrom ，

Such an interesting and bizarre story told phenomenally well！ So many people have recommended this book and I’m so glad I finally picked it up！ Not even halfway through was I already suggesting it to friends and I’m still glad I did after finishing。 Tara’s story is so complex and outrageous at times that it almost read like fiction。 This book is great for fans of The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah。

Michael ，

Gripping story。

Zané Swanepoel ，

An exceptional memoir。 Although it focuses on Westover's experiences growing up in a Mormon family and her journey to getting an education， the memoir is a stark reflection of the power of ideology， and how - even after years of exposure to a new reality - the slow violence of ideology continues to be the strongest force for control。 An exceptional memoir。 Although it focuses on Westover's experiences growing up in a Mormon family and her journey to getting an education， the memoir is a stark reflection of the power of ideology， and how - even after years of exposure to a new reality - the slow violence of ideology continues to be the strongest force for control。 。。。more

Meds Areola ，

KAKAPAGOD TEH :（（

Andrew Hendrickson ，

2。5 stars。 I need to be more honest with my reviews from now on。 I found this book incredibly boring TBH。 It was slow， especially the first part and third part。 It made me frustrated at her dumb parents， and I really felt bad for Tara。 Also， I got frustrated when Tara made herself feel like a bad person， not her parents。 I should have just read a different book :（Oh also， I read it in January， stopped， and picked it back up in March。 I'm only going to record the March dates here though。 2。5 stars。 I need to be more honest with my reviews from now on。 I found this book incredibly boring TBH。 It was slow， especially the first part and third part。 It made me frustrated at her dumb parents， and I really felt bad for Tara。 Also， I got frustrated when Tara made herself feel like a bad person， not her parents。 I should have just read a different book :（Oh also， I read it in January， stopped， and picked it back up in March。 I'm only going to record the March dates here though。 。。。more

Drew Gullahorn ，

I totally get the hype this shit is crazy， though it seems like it was written realllly soon after she experienced all of this。 I wonder if she will feel differently about her experiences given more time to reflect。

Grace ，

Everyone needs to read this book。 Education as always， is under appreciated。（view spoiler）[Some thoughts and quotes throughout reading the book:“Until that moment I had never heard of mental illness。 I knew people could go crazy— they’d wear dead cats on their heads or fall in love with a turnip— but the notion that a person could be functional， lucid， persuasive， and something could still be wrong， had never occurred to me。” Page 29As of now， the time that I’m writing this， mental illness is st Everyone needs to read this book。 Education as always， is under appreciated。（view spoiler）[Some thoughts and quotes throughout reading the book:“Until that moment I had never heard of mental illness。 I knew people could go crazy— they’d wear dead cats on their heads or fall in love with a turnip— but the notion that a person could be functional， lucid， persuasive， and something could still be wrong， had never occurred to me。” Page 29As of now， the time that I’m writing this， mental illness is still not a fully understood， believeable， concept。 Humans seem to be way too confident if its not an injury you can physically see， it does not exist。 The chapters about Y2K are fasinating。 I remember hearing about how people worried the world would end when it clicked to January 1st， 2000Theres something so wonderfully refreshing and new about Tara’s POV。 I give the example of when Charles gives her asprin to relieve her headache and shes amazed at how well it works and moves her head around and pulls on her ears like a child would not understanding why it worked。 Beautifully written。I did not think this book would make me cry。 I was prepared for a shocking read not a meaningful one。 But what Dr。 Kerry says to Tara might be one of the most beautiful things ive ever read:“You must stop yourself from thinking like that，” Dr。 Kerry said， his voice raised。 “You are not fool’s gold， shining only under a particular light。 Whomever you become， whatever you make yourself into， that is who you always were。 It was always in you。 Not in Cambridge。 In you。 You are gold。 And returning to BYU， or even to that mountain you came from， will not change who you are。 It may change how others see you， it may even change how you see yourself—even gold appears dull in some lighting— but that is the illusion。 And it always was。” Page 242“I tried to imagine what it would have been like to study in such a place， to walk across marble floors each morning and， day after day， come to associate learning with beauty。” Page 267When she talks about therpy and how its helpedThis should be plastered on the front of every billboard“I made the only good decision I had made for months: I enrolled in the university counseling service。 I was assigned to a sprightly middle-aged woman with tight curls and sharp eyes， who rarely spoke in our sessions， preferring to let me talk it out， which I did， week after week， month after month。 The counseling did nothing at first—I can’t think of a single session I would describe as “helpful”—but their collective power over time was undeniable。 I didn’t understand it then， and I don’t under stand it now， there was something nourishing in setting aside that time each week， in the act of admiting that I needed something I could not provide for myself。” Page 316I didn’t think I needed to hear something as much as I needed to like I needed to hear this。I realized after I had finished this book that not only was it about more than a sheltered girl learning how to grow up in a society she was shunned away from all her life but the many life lessons we learn along the way。Such as。。。。That an education is more than knowing more vocabulary or who the 21st president was but that to truly be educated is to be able to look outside of yourself and see others points of views and to be flexible in your opinions。 You can still love someone and choose not to have them in your life。I think thats why this book has resinated with so many people， because its honest and you can interpret so many life lessons through it。 （hide spoiler）] 。。。more

Rebeca ，

Lo acabé hace días pero quería dejarlo reposar。 Spoiler: no me ha servido de nada porque sigo sin saber que decir。 Es una historia que duele y angustia y a veces solo quieres olvidar que no es ficción。

Qas ，

Educated is the kind of memoir that gives a glimpse into a lifestyle and childhood that few can relate to。 It's consistently eyebrow raising and the effect doesn't wear off at all。 From the start right through to the end， the events that unfold are beyond belief。 You see news stories about people living in rural America in this sort of way， but always with a distant "those crazy nutters" type tone。 The brilliance of Educated is it shows what daily life with this upbringing feels like， and how it Educated is the kind of memoir that gives a glimpse into a lifestyle and childhood that few can relate to。 It's consistently eyebrow raising and the effect doesn't wear off at all。 From the start right through to the end， the events that unfold are beyond belief。 You see news stories about people living in rural America in this sort of way， but always with a distant "those crazy nutters" type tone。 The brilliance of Educated is it shows what daily life with this upbringing feels like， and how it shapes who you grow up to be。 Tara and her family don't see these behaviours as abnormal， and that helps propel the events and keep this compelling。 Though honestly， on the scale of "wilderness living"， this isn't too extreme a tale。 Where it gets particularly awful is around the abuse the family face。 Interestingly， this sort of abuse could just as easily happen in a modern， fancy apartment， with a family where all the kids attend the finest of schools。 The book almost puts together the two quite distinct experiences into one， and if you are mainly interested in the former you might end up disappointed with this。As a side-note， a lot （and I mean a lot lot） of what we see here stretches beyond feasible， particularly some of the educational leaps and horrendous injuries that occur throughout。 I took it at face value and it didn't harm the experience for me， but I can definitely see how it could for the more skeptical reader。 The writing style is clean， simple， and direct。 I thought it fit the tone of the book well， and ensured the focus was on the slow transformation Tara went through rather than the environment。 But， because of this I also didn't fully engage。 4 stars。 。。。more

Rikki ，

4。5/5 stars

Aya Agha ，

It was quite interesting to see the extremes of religions

Mijke ，

Moest hem lezen voor een vak van uni。 Maar holy wat heeft dit boek me aangegrepen。 Echt onwijs knap geschreven en een vrij bizar verhaal。 Erg leerzaam

Nancy ，

Fascinating book， I was mesmerized by the memoir - how a girl who had no education or even access to books or much of the outside world， passed the ACT by using a study guide， was accepted to BYU and then a meeting with a Prof who gives her the opportunity to go Cambridge and alters the course of her life - from being trapped with her family in Idaho to get a Phd in Cambridge with a semester in Harvard。 I had so many questions - I was afraid for the kids in the Westover family in Idaho and the p Fascinating book， I was mesmerized by the memoir - how a girl who had no education or even access to books or much of the outside world， passed the ACT by using a study guide， was accepted to BYU and then a meeting with a Prof who gives her the opportunity to go Cambridge and alters the course of her life - from being trapped with her family in Idaho to get a Phd in Cambridge with a semester in Harvard。 I had so many questions - I was afraid for the kids in the Westover family in Idaho and the physical danger their father put them in， from working under dangerous conditions to driving and getting into accidents。 I wonder what the author would do to get other kids out of situations like that。 It was intelligence and incredible mental strength to get out and go to BYU。 I was really fascinated by her progress and the mental anguish of the love and attachment she still held for her family 。。。more

Melissa Hay ，

Amazing！！！！ I couldn't put it down！！ Everyone needs to read this！！ Amazing！！！！ I couldn't put it down！！ Everyone needs to read this！！ 。。。more

Carey ，

Just finished。 By chapter 11， I was ready to award 5 stars。 I was enraged by the stupidity of the author’s parents and also for allowing the violence that occurred in the home。 By the end， following some minimal research， I found myself doubting the story as presented。 Between her mental illness and that of her family， I’m conflicted as to what is accurate。 It doesn’t really matter as that is the way Dr。 Westover remembers events happening， and her perception is what she has to work through and Just finished。 By chapter 11， I was ready to award 5 stars。 I was enraged by the stupidity of the author’s parents and also for allowing the violence that occurred in the home。 By the end， following some minimal research， I found myself doubting the story as presented。 Between her mental illness and that of her family， I’m conflicted as to what is accurate。 It doesn’t really matter as that is the way Dr。 Westover remembers events happening， and her perception is what she has to work through and live with - same as the other members of her family。 That said， with the education she received and the knowledge she now has about the facts of mental illness， it would be nice to have come away with a greater sense of grace toward her family - which I didn’t。 。。。more

Leigh ，

This book dove right into the heart and soul of Tara and her family。 Good perspective in how a family is raised and the effects parents have on their children。 Great read！

Marwa Tageldeen ，

The most amazing thing about this book is the fact it’s a memoir 。It is the kind of book that stays with you after you finish reading 。It made me want to read more memoirs。I gave it 3 stars because there were many parts I thought were boring and I would have totally given it five starts if it was 100 pages shorter than it is 。

Susan Kenny ，

I love memoirs and this is one of my favorites。 I loved putting myself into her "oh so different than mine" upbringing。 I love memoirs and this is one of my favorites。 I loved putting myself into her "oh so different than mine" upbringing。 。。。more

Evi Cherry ，

4，5 starsTo me this book is more about the theme of the family rather than education。 But a fascinating memoir nonetheless。 I would recommend it， especially to my psychotherapist friends！

Amy Happ ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Each time I cringed， narrowing my eyes to protect them from the words that were flying off the page and assaulting my sense for whatever harrowing experience Tara was relaying， I thought to myself， "how can it possibly get worse？！" and then it did， over and over again。 But each time Tara was knocked down or experienced trauma in her telling of her life story there was always a strength behind the words; I never pitied her despite the significant atrocities she endured。 Hers is a story of triumph Each time I cringed， narrowing my eyes to protect them from the words that were flying off the page and assaulting my sense for whatever harrowing experience Tara was relaying， I thought to myself， "how can it possibly get worse？！" and then it did， over and over again。 But each time Tara was knocked down or experienced trauma in her telling of her life story there was always a strength behind the words; I never pitied her despite the significant atrocities she endured。 Hers is a story of triumph beyond all measure， and an example that it if you have breath in your body you can realoze your dreams。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Educated

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Educated&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Educated&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0