Educated: A Memoir

By Tara Westover, 2018, Random House, 334 pages
Reviewed by Gail Keller, Sept. 19, 2020

As I read this book, I often had to put it down because of the emotional struggles the author had to endure.

She tells her story as she remembers it. In spite of her experiences, which would upset anyone, you can still feel the love she has for her family; but as her story goes on, she makes life changes her family would not approve of. Her education helped her learn new ways of thinking.

Tara was the youngest of seven children growing up in the mountains of Idaho. She was 17 before she attended her first school, which, remarkably was a college. The reason neither she nor her siblings ever had primary or secondary educations was that her father did not believe in school, hospitals or traditional medicine.

Her mother always backed her husband and raised her children to do the same. The family lived in an isolated area away from the mainstream population. In the summer, Tara helped her mother who was a midwife and herbalist. In the winter, she and her brothers worked in her father's junkyard often using tools to cut steel.

She was never dressed like a little girl so when she finally attended college, she had to learn to dress like the other girls in her dorm. As you can imagine, there were many family conflicts as the result of her father's countless stern, controlling requirements and religious beliefs.

Accidents to family members included gashes, concussions, burns, and broken bones were all treated by her mother with herbs. For the most part, Tara got along with her family members and tried her best to assist when she could. One of her brothers could be described as emotionally disturbed. Tara tried to get her parents to help him with his problems, but they essentially blamed Tara, and they did not intervene. This situation caused Tara to have many sleepless nights and started her self-struggle. In spite of feeling strong family loyalty she began to work on finding a place in life for herself.

The question you might be asking is how did she first get to school. One of her brothers decided to go to college, which got Tara interested. She self-taught herself the math, grammar and science she needed, so she could take the ACT exam. Her test scores resulted in her being admitted to Brigham Young University.

She graduated in 2008 and was awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship. She earned a master of philosophy degree from Trinity College and was then awarded a visiting fellow position at Harvard in 2010. She eventually returned to Cambridge and earned a Ph.D. in history in 2014.

This book tells the unlikely tale of a girl who lived 17 years isolated from the mainstream and yet goes on to accomplish an ultimate educational goal. The stark title, “Educated,” represents in four clipped syllables how she managed to rise above an unpromising background to create a life of achievement and fulfillment.

Her ordeals can be heart-wrenching, but at the same time her story is an inspiration to others who have suffered trauma and need the courage to step out and make a change.

This is Tara's Westover's first book, but I predict it will not be her last. I highly recommend it.