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A review by stateofgrace
Educated by Tara Westover
4.5
I couldn't put this book down! Tara Westover's story of her struggle to obtain an education within a survivalist family is so powerful. The writing is raw and emotional, and the story is heartwrenching and powerful.
Westover writes about her family in a very nuanced way. Her father is a survivalist, who ironically cared very little about the survival of his children and placed their safety up to God, yet Westover is still able to understand that his actions stem from an undiagnosed mental illness and strong paranoid delusions. Her mother is complicit in the actions of her father and brother, yet Westover writes about her mother urging her in her quest for a college education. Her siblings too, fall into this grey area, as each occupies a different level of obedience to their father and loyalty to their sister.
My only criticism is that I don't think Westover wrote enough about the religious aspect of the trauma of her upbringing. Although Westover is able to criticize her family's extreme version of Mormonism, I wish she had delved deeper into the religion as a whole, and the ways in which some people utilize religion enables abuse.
Westover writes about her family in a very nuanced way. Her father is a survivalist, who ironically cared very little about the survival of his children and placed their safety up to God, yet Westover is still able to understand that his actions stem from an undiagnosed mental illness and strong paranoid delusions. Her mother is complicit in the actions of her father and brother, yet Westover writes about her mother urging her in her quest for a college education. Her siblings too, fall into this grey area, as each occupies a different level of obedience to their father and loyalty to their sister.
My only criticism is that I don't think Westover wrote enough about the religious aspect of the trauma of her upbringing. Although Westover is able to criticize her family's extreme version of Mormonism, I wish she had delved deeper into the religion as a whole, and the ways in which some people utilize religion enables abuse.