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pranjuli's review against another edition
4.0
Weirdly, despite being a story so away from our lives, Tara doesn't come across as an alien when discussing about her feelings and fears and how she felt when thrown into new situations after living a completely different life for 17 years. She doesn't feel unnatural, she doesn't come across as miraculous either.
She is a woman, just like any of us, who had to grapple with so much.
Graphic: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Animal death and Animal cruelty
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
snipinfool's review against another edition
4.0
Tara and her family spent their days working with Gene, gathering scrap metal to sell or building barns. It was hard and, at times, dangerous. The children were often injured. The family also helped create tinctures and other concoctions with their mother, Faye, who was an herbalist. Later, Tara helped her mother when she became a midwife. As Tara grew older and the older siblings left the house, she was abused by one of her brothers. She learned how to tread lightly around him, but often, not even that kept him from attacking her. Either her parents did not believe her when she told them what her brother had done or they told her that he was sorry and they were through talking about it.
Her brother, Tyler, decided to leave and go to college. He had borrowed textbooks to teach himself and was able to pass the ACT to get into Brigham Young University. Tara eventually did the same and was able to get into BYU also. She was seventeen when she stepped into a classroom for the first time. This was a whole new world for Tara and one where she did not know the rules. She did not let that stop her and she flourished.
I had a hard time putting this book down. The world Tara came from was so different from the one I was raised in. The hardships she dealt with in her family relationships and those in the outside world would have stopped many from trying to accomplish what they needed to do to be happy. I had a difficult time with how her parents handled the abuse from her brother. I can’t understand why they allowed it to continue. I am glad she had the support of her brother, Tyler, when she was planning to go to college. If she hadn’t, she might have never left.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Mental illness
alexmoody's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Animal death and Animal cruelty
nightpath's review against another edition
5.0
Tara Westover is a truly talented writer, and clearly a deeply reflective person. To have spent so much of her life journaling to no end and learning at a steep cost to her wellbeing, it is amazing that this book even exists.
There are few stories that allow you to see so clearly how much of a certain experience you have taken for granted, but this book takes you out of yourself entirely and shows you in absolute clarity what it is you have been given, simply by receiving an education.
My only note is to trigger warn - the book is intense and graphic and it may not suit everyone!
Graphic: Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Violence, Death of parent, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
papaveriepapere's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Bullying, Gaslighting, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, and Violence
somberlittleman's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Cancer
tkeeley's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Child abuse
futuredocmartin's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Car accident, Blood, Mental illness, and Child abuse
Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, Death, Animal death, Religious bigotry, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Racial slurs
marissasa's review
3.0
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Cursing, Bullying, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Violence, Animal death, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Medical content, and Mental illness
robert_schreiner's review against another edition
5.0
im.
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse