(Image taken from https://tarawestover.com/book)
The semester is picking up, and I know most of us don’t have time to read anything that isn’t course related. But, if you are looking for something to do on the train, plane, or bus ride home for Thanksgiving or even winter break, I have the perfect book for you.
Educated is Tara Westover’s memoir that recounts her journey from a Mormon upbringing in rural Idaho to Harvard University, and even overseas to Cambridge, England. This transition might not seem incredible within itself, but wait until you hear the twist.
Westover was raised by a father, Gene, who deeply believed in the coming of the end of the world. He had such an intense fear of the “Government” that Tara never attended school, never saw a doctor growing up, and didn’t have a birth certificate until age nine.
The novel recounts wild stories of horrific car crashes, almost deadly falls, and third degree burns all being treated at home with herbs and various other remedies. Westover’s mother, Faye, was a midwife and herbalist who was encouraged by Gene to learn these skills. The Westover’s number one priority was to be self-reliant and end the family’s need for the outside world.
The most striking part of Westover’s journey is her path into higher education. Westover never attended a day of formal schooling throughout the entirety of her childhood and wasn’t homeschooled on a regular schedule or in a traditional way. Most days of her childhood consisted of roaming her family's property and taking care of the farm animals, helping her mother create herbal remedies, working with her father in the dangerous scrap yard, or stocking food in preparation for the end of the world.
A pivotal moment for Westover comes when her older brother Tyler is accepted to Brigham Young University after teaching himself math, science and grammar.
Westover is inspired to do the same. She passes the ACT and is admitted to Brigham Young University.
If you think adjusting to Skidmore freshman year is difficult, then you can imagine that Westover’s acclimation to college was 100 times harder. She arrived without knowledge of prominent and important historical events, such as the Holocaust and the Civil Rights Movement.
Her self-determination and intense motivation not only brought her to Brigham Young, but also allowed her to become a scholar at the prestigious institutions of Cambridge and Harvard, all while reflecting on and coming to terms with her distinct, and at times abusive, upbringing.
For many reasons, Educated is an incredible book. I would recommend reading this for a thought provoking and intense novel that you won’t want to put down.