Educated

by Tara Westover

[wcs53]

This book is a powerful must read memoir that was hard to put down. As I read it I was taken on a rollercoaster of emotions. At times it was heartbreaking, but there were also some happy moments, with a variety of other things in between.

Tara Westover overcame so much to get where she is today. It's amazing that she never stepped into a classroom until she was seventeen. That classroom was a university one and now she has a PhD. Even though it's difficult to understand how in this day and age she could have grown up in the way that she did, I'm sure her case is not an isolated one. The fundamentalism she was brought up in was quite severe, but sad to say probably more commonplace than many would want to admit.

I read the book knowing that she had been raised in a fundamental Mormon family, with a father who was a survivalist. What was refreshing, for me, was that she never criticized Mormonism at any point and made the point of pointing out that her father was far more extreme in the way he followed his religion. Extreme fundamentalism is ugly in any religion and is certainly not confined to any single one.

Although at times this book made me upset and angry, it is also a story of hope. I'm glad that the author chose to share her journey in the way that she did. If you are looking for a memoir with plenty of depth and honesty then this is the one to read.