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sary's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Racism, Violence, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Car accident, Animal cruelty, Blood, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, and Cancer
Moderate: Terminal illness
geegee98's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Car accident, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Blood, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Violence, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Antisemitism, and Cancer
Minor: Terminal illness and Dementia
ebing97's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Cancer, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Car accident, and Physical abuse
laurajordensharris's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Death, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, Animal death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Antisemitism, Body shaming, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Grief, Racial slurs, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Cursing, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, and Abandonment
oproy's review against another edition
5.0
It was honest in a way that made you love and at the same time hate each person she wrote about. Honestly one of the best books I’ve ever read, highly recommend.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Animal cruelty, Sexism, Blood, Cancer, Misogyny, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders
pasupapare's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Animal death, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Misogyny
Minor: Pregnancy and Cancer
hjb_128's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Gore, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Medical content, Animal death, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Religious bigotry, Racism, Classism, Body horror, Car accident, Bullying, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Cancer
crybabybea's review against another edition
4.5
Educated does center around abusive familial relationships and neglect, but I appreciated at the attention paid to the emotional experience as a child living in that environment rather than just retelling events. I felt like we really got inside Tara's head both as a child and as an adult, and I think it takes a great writer to pull that off in an interesting way.
Anyone who has survived abuse and/or neglect will relate heavily to Tara's story, even if you haven't experienced the specific flavor of religious fanaticism and doomsday preparation she experienced. I especially liked the inclusion of Tara's many, many experiences gaslighting herself and justifying the behavior of those around her. I found it to be an incredibly relatable and realistic portrayal of the complicated and confusing nature of abusive relationships, especially when those relationships are familial.
I do think this book is a bit mis-marketed sometimes, and a lot of reviewers put emphasis on the survival aspect of the book which I think is the tamest and least important part of all. It actually put me off on picking this book up for so long because I wasn't interested in reading a memoir that centered around doomsday prepping and wilderness survival. Instead, I think the thread that ties the memoir together is the importance of education, and how Tara's own education (in all its good, bad, and ugly forms) shaped her into the person she is today.
I was a bit disappointed that the audiobook wasn't read by the author, but I saw it won an Audie award so I stayed tuned; I didn't particularly like how it made the book come across as disconnected and way less emotional than it should have been. Though I think the narrator herself did a great job and I appreciated the way she used different voices to keep track of the many important people in Tara's story.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Violence, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Blood, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Pregnancy, Racism, Cancer, and Child death
On top of experiencing mental and emotional abuse from her parents, Tara experienced extreme physical and mental abuse from her older brother and retells events in great detail. She also experienced collective gaslighting and emotional abuse from her parents and siblings when she decided to speak up. Tara's father and brother exhibit mental health symptoms such as paranoia, delusions of grandeur, fits of rage, and gaslighting. Tara and her mother worked as midwives so there are multiple passages that include mildly graphic scenes of delivery and one moderately graphic anecdote about a stillborn delivery. There are multiple incidents that result in injury due to lack of safety measures. Including multiple car crashes and accidents while working on the scrapyard, as well as severe burns.bashsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Westover has a vivid and transporting sense of description, and Whelan reads her words with a measured and flowing cadance (although I could do without her attempts at Idaho accents and masculine tones when reading dialogue). Westover is also extremely cognizant of the core of memoir - that it is one person's truth, and that one person's truth has power. Add that to how it demonstrates the highly political nature of education, and of course Westover has a captivating book.
That said, I feel part of the appeal for a lot of people is the shock of Westover's upbringing and a certain desire to gawk. This gawking desire draws lots of people to memoirs, but Educated is especially primed for it. I have to wonder how others are engaging with it - hopefully more than on a 'damn, that was crazy' level.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Car accident, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body shaming, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Animal death, Racism, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, and Misogyny
Moderate: Gun violence, Domestic abuse, and Xenophobia
Minor: Cancer
theshanana's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Car accident, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, and Racism
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Cancer, Dementia, Death, and Death of parent