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A review by rosepoints
Educated by Tara Westover
5.0
i’ll be honest, i had no idea what this book was about other than the fact that it was highly rated. based on the title, i assumed it would be something about homeschooling and that would be that. although tara westover does discuss her journey into academia, this incredibly gripping and emotional memoir ended up being more about trauma, abuse, and violence.
for instance, there are sections in the book where westover adds in footnotes about her memory of an incident vs her siblings’ memory of the incident, and at the end of the book, she even includes a section further dissecting an impactful memory and how differently each member of her family remembers it. along with her discussion about her doubting her own memory and being gaslit by her family, the book offers a glimpse into how trauma can shape your memory and your trust in yourself.
westover also describes how she returns to her family, over and over again, in various attempts to address the wrongs that were done against her, particularly by her older brother, shawn. i found that to be a sad reflection of how generational trauma, abuse and domestic violence can exist in the family. even though westover tries to hold her family accountable, her sister ends up caving to their family’s demands, recanting her words and acquiescing to the family’s narrative. this happens so often, where families will cover up unsavory stories and try to diminish the effects that the domestic violence had. finally, westover ends up cutting contact with her family — a step many children from abusive families have to do.
admittedly, i think westover could have elaborated on the role of mormonism / cults / conservatism within the breakdown of her familial relationships and the dynamic of their abuses, but i can see why that would be difficult for her. i don’t know if she’s still a practicing mormon, but based off the book, it seems all of her family members, including those that remained with westover after her disownment, remain mormon. in addition, her going to BYU and getting grants/funding from the mormon church may have made it more difficult to directly point out religion as a factor in her family’s abuse. regardless, it was brave of her to write what she did.
for instance, there are sections in the book where westover adds in footnotes about her memory of an incident vs her siblings’ memory of the incident, and at the end of the book, she even includes a section further dissecting an impactful memory and how differently each member of her family remembers it. along with her discussion about her doubting her own memory and being gaslit by her family, the book offers a glimpse into how trauma can shape your memory and your trust in yourself.
westover also describes how she returns to her family, over and over again, in various attempts to address the wrongs that were done against her, particularly by her older brother, shawn. i found that to be a sad reflection of how generational trauma, abuse and domestic violence can exist in the family. even though westover tries to hold her family accountable, her sister ends up caving to their family’s demands, recanting her words and acquiescing to the family’s narrative. this happens so often, where families will cover up unsavory stories and try to diminish the effects that the domestic violence had. finally, westover ends up cutting contact with her family — a step many children from abusive families have to do.
admittedly, i think westover could have elaborated on the role of mormonism / cults / conservatism within the breakdown of her familial relationships and the dynamic of their abuses, but i can see why that would be difficult for her. i don’t know if she’s still a practicing mormon, but based off the book, it seems all of her family members, including those that remained with westover after her disownment, remain mormon. in addition, her going to BYU and getting grants/funding from the mormon church may have made it more difficult to directly point out religion as a factor in her family’s abuse. regardless, it was brave of her to write what she did.