Educated by Tara Westover

Educated is a memoir by Tara Westover that documents her path from growing up in an austere, isolated home in rural Idaho, to earning a Ph.D. from Cambridge University. Tara was the daughter of survivalist parents who did not trust the government, or public education, and believed in alternative medicine. As a result, Tara never attended school and received no formal education as a child. While she experienced the trauma of having a father with extreme beliefs and undiagnosed mental illness. 

In my opinion, Tara Westover's writing is raw, honest, and emotional. What struck me most in the book is how well she tells the complex emotional struggle of wanting to stay loyal to one's family, while wanting to grow as an individual. Her experiences are immense and illuminate what many other people's experiences resemble, being silenced or controlled, or made to question their own reality. 

Reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 11

Glendale Central Library