Educated

by Tara Westover

[Berls]

As someone raised in a cult, this book seriously resonated with me. In many ways, my family/religious upbringing almost sounds sane compared to Tara's. But the principles, the abuse, the neglect, the insanity of it - that was so familiar. I read the first part very slowly and took breaks from it - I thought I wasn't enjoying the book, but I realized as I got to the second half, when Tara starts breaking free and finding herself through education, that it was just too uncomfortable and brought back memories I couldn't deal with in huge doses.

The second half though, wow! I read that so fast and here I identified almost 10o%. I was fortunate enough to not have suffered the homeschooling that Tara did, but was otherwise similarly lost and confused as I navigated undergrad and grad school. I battled with a lot of the same self-deprecating thoughts and doubts. I struggled with reconciling what I was learning with the family I was losing through that education. And while I didn't quite achieve the PhD she did, I came close, and like her, the awakening that education provided me cost me most my family. It was amazing to read someone else going through that same kind of rebirth, despite coming from a very different cult experience.

I think the title - Educated - couldn't be more perfect. I saw it in myself and I've seen it with others who have escaped cult life. Education is the key. You get educated and it helps you to see the cult for what it is. I couldn't recommend this book more, I enjoyed it so much!

Oh and the narration was great. It was kind of funny to hear Sophie Eastlake of Chicagoland Vampires take on something so "normal" but I thought she did a great job.