Educated by Tara Westover is a
chilling, biographical account of one women’s journey from her rural upbringing
in Utah to Cambridge and Harvard and back. A journey that was almost a fatal, both physically and emotionally.
Raised
in a fundamentalist Mormon home, Westover yearned for learning outside of her
narrow, constricted life. Unable to even attend school because of her bi-polar,
religious zealot father’s insistence on supposed, non-existent,
“home-schooling,” she was forced to glean whatever information she could from
borrowed magazines, music and books.
Westover’s
father’s paranoia grew to such an extent that even serious injuries and medical
emergencies were only treated at home under the supervision of Westover’s
mother, who practiced homeopathic, herbalist techniques. Everyone in the
outside world was considered a threat.
As
if this behavior was not enough, Westover and her siblings were forced to work
for their father under grueling, unsafe conditions in salvage and construction
while preparing for the “end of days.” The father’s controlling, domineering
personality, coupled with the mother’s bullied, cowardice and compliance acted
as an effective brain-washing technique for all the children. This smothering
control extended to ignoring physical and mental abuse.
Tara
Westover’s recounting of unremitting determination is inspiring, shocking and
heartbreaking at the same time. She questioned her abilities every step of the
way. Perhaps the very grit that allowed her to survive under such circumstances
was the foundation that allowed her to succeed.
Recommend.
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