Educated by Tara Westover was one of my most anticipated releases of 2018 and it definitely did not disappoint.

Tara Westover's memoir is filled with interesting family stories, heartbreak, resilience, strength, and much more. It is both touching and thought-provoking, personal yet universal. 

Tara Westover, PhD, was seventeen years old when she first set foot in a traditional classroom. Educated in an unconventional homeschooling system (unconventional in the sense that there really was no encouragement for her to study in the first place) Tara never really imagined her to be a person who would fit into a traditional school environment.

Her future felt very pre-determined for her -- marrying early, giving birth to children, assisting her mother with her midwife-business or her father with his many business endeavors. When one of Tara's brothers moves away from home to attend university against their parents' wishes, Tara begins to think that there might be a possibility for her to escape her pre-determined future as well. 

It was so interesting, yet kind of terrifying, to read about Tara's childhood and the things that she has to witness living in a family that does not believe in government organized education or in the assistance of trained physicians and nurses. Seeing her mother suffer from brain injury and not getting help from the doctors or seeing her brother burned and scarred leaves a mark that she is probably never able to fully erase.

Tara's father is one of the most interesting "characters" to read about. The synopsis calls him survivalist, which I guess is true to an extent since he does prepare for the end of the world. I find it interesting, though, that the synopsis does not really mention the religious aspects of Tara's father believes at all. 

Maybe the publisher thinks a mention of religion could drive some readers away. I personally had read about this book from elsewhere and knew about the religious content before picking this one up.

Tara's family attends church services at the local Mormon church but according to her father, they seem to be the only true believers in their community. His religious believes are the reason he doesn't want his children to go to a government-owned school or to a hospital. If an accident happens, according to him it was the wish of God. 

I am not a religious person at all which is why I find it extremely difficult to understand Tara's father's reasoning. His decisions made me consider how I would act in situations the family finds itself in and though I did not relate to Tara's father in any way, I found it extremely intriguing to read about him. 

His decisions and actions definitely have left a mark not only on himself but on all the members of his family as well. 

The violence Tara has to witness and personally go through in her home was angering and heartbreaking. The status of women in her community is horrible and painful to read about. Getting to witness how Tara's perception of herself and what she has gone through changes as she spends time away from home is extremely interesting and brilliantly executed. 

The more time she spends away the more she starts to realize that what has happened to her since her childhood is not normal or deserved. It is the result of toxic masculinity and age-old gender stereotypes. 

Tara's educational journey is so inspirational and highlights her personal strength. The way she is able to, slowly but surely, get acclimated to this whole new world for her is described brilliantly. 

I constantly found myself rooting for her and wishing for all the best. Finding her areas of academic interest and questioning things she has been taught in her home takes time, but once she gets a chance to make her own mind it is proved that her ideas are original, brilliant and worth examining. 

All of her academic research she mentions in the book sounds like something I would love to get my hands on. 

Westover is a strong writer and is able to piece her story together in a way that makes the reader want to keep turning the pages. Though I was not able to relate to her family background, her struggles at university and finding her way in the academic world were issues which made me think about my own university years. 

While I believe those who can relate to Tara's family and educational background are in minority within the readership of this book, I believe her universal story about the struggles of growing up in an unconventional environment, finding her way on her own, and making decisions against her parents' wishes are issues many readers can identify with.

I highly recommend Educated to everyone and hope that this was only the beginning of Tara Westover's writing career.

I am obsessed with books about unusual religions and this book about surviving abuse and at the hands of Tara's  Mormon parents was horrifying and fascinating.

Tara Westover's story is totally different from any other. Her childhood and upbringing by her parents is harsh and far removed from what we expect normal childhood to be. I feel that she has been very brave in telling her story. Her decision to go to university was courageous. This book is worth reading. It will stay with me for a long time.

This book, or rather the story of the life Tara endured, is horrifying. At one point I contemplated not continuing any further as it was making me feel quite distressed. However I ended up finishing the book because it is so raw and brutally honest, that I felt as if I would be doing Tara a disservice to not continue. Despite the unpleasant content, it is well written and has earned the five stars.

I was fascinated by Tara's story and her struggle to overcome the unusual and difficult upbringing she had.  Her determination to read and learn was inspirational and she is clearly a gifted person.  I hope that she has been able to come to terms with her family background and found happiness in her life now.

I have the highest regard for education, and for people who fight through adversity to get an education, but I feel this book is more about Tara's need to escape her family situation than a desire for learning.
I don't understand how a university, BYU, can admit someone with no knowledge of the world around them and no skills to help them learn on to an undergraduate degree course.
Tara has no idea how to write an essay, how to glean information from a textbook, when or who to contact for help. Nothing. 
Regardless of Tara's initial comments the central tenets of this book all whirl around religion; around Mormonism. Would a non Mormon with similar 'education' get a place at BYU? I very much doubt it.
If Mormonism is not central why is Tara questioning herself when the Bishop tells her to enrol in counselling "so that one day she might enjoy an eternal marriage to a righteous man".
It is obvious that when Tara finally embraces education that she is  brilliant. I recognised the names of a few of her professors. They are highly regarded. No one short of brilliant would have won a place at Cambridge or have been accepted to study there for a PhD.
Even so her book is, in my opinion, a mess...a jumble...introverted. Tara has not found the strength to tell her readers what really happened. We are expected to muddle through, hopefully reaching the correct conclusions.
I believe she was abused by Shawn. Whether it was physical, mental or sexual I don't know. Why else would he call her a whore?

This is a powerful true story of a woman who struggles to break free of her abusive family by educating herself. The family live on the fringes of society in Idaho, making a living through scrap metal dealing and eventually homeopathic medicine. They are Mormons and no much how Tara states that her book is not about Mormonism, there is no escaping the fact that this religion is central to the family's ideology and beliefs and how they regard modern medicine, education and women. The father and brother both have mental issues, (undiagnosed, possibly bipolar) and they use their power and religion as an excuse for bringing their family up in ignorance and subjugating them to what amounts to torture. The mother is complicit, although she makes a pretence of standing up to the father once or twice. The women are called whores if they so much as reveal an inch of skin or talk to a boy, There are shocking risks taken with dangerous machinery which results in horrific accidents. These are treated with herbs and tinctures and refusal to go to hospital or see a doctor or even take a pain killer. When Tara and her sister try to break free, the family gather round to suck them back in, citing Lucifer and subjecting them to hours of lecturing and preaching, bullying and physical abuse. It is truly sickening to read. Tara eventually breaks free after going back again and again, trying to get her head round what is the truth. She eventually gains the highest, privileged education, at Cambridge and Harvard, and becomes a doctor of philosophy.
I think this will be a best-seller.