FOUR STARS * * * *
Genre: Memoir
I listened to this fascinating and often haunting, memoir on Audible, after it was recommended to me by a friend. I was extremely intrigued to understand how a girl, who grew up in a survivalist Mormon family that didn't believe in education (among other things) ended up achieving a PhD from Cambridge University in England. Her story however, is so much more than simply a narrative of her path into traditional education. I was hanging on for every intricate detail of her experiences and felt honoured to be privy to all the often excruciating details of her family relationships and sometimes deeply disturbing moments.
Synposis
Tara Westover grew up in Buck's Peak, Idaho in a Mormon family. With her birth not officially registered, she was 'home-schooled' and in fact spent most of her days helping her mother make herbal remedies and helping her father and many brothers sort out scrap in their junkyard. The Westover family (which includes 6 siblings for Tara), spear-headed by Tara's father, grew up with a heavy suspicion of the state and were perpetually preparing for the 'end of days'.
As she becomes older, Tara's relationships with her mother, father, 5 brothers and 1 sister, see much polarization with disturbing violence, tender connections and everything in between. The family is also shaken with a series of horrific accidents, leaving no one unaffected. Over time her father becomes more radical in his beliefs and the tension across numerous encounters with different family members, sees Tara eventually leaving home in pursuit of an education. She discovers not only traditional, academic education but also a deeper understanding of herself. However, for Tara, being educated comes at a cost.
My thoughts
Reading this memoir was like reading about a parallel universe to my own upbringing. Yet sometimes there were little portals which took me back into aspects of my own family life; a tender moment, a family connection. I did find the book slow-going at the beginning and I considered not proceeding. I'm glad I did, however. On reflection, the slow introduction set the stage so well to understanding the author's experiences, emotions and decisions all the better.
The author's upbringing is filled with so many life-changing events and situations in her family, it's almost too surreal to contemplate. Mental health, physical abuse, accidents, radical beliefs, more accidents, denials, achievements, failures, contradictions and more accidents. It was also excruciating to hear parts of her story, after leaving home, where she initially failed, not really unsurprisingly, to connect not only with people around her but also with significant world events she was completely unaware of.
This memoir is an education in of itself. A well written and brave account of an upbringing most of us can hardly imagine.
About the author
According to Wikipedia, Tara Westover (born September 27, 1986) is an American memoirist, essayist and historian. Her memoir Educated (2018) debuted at #1 on The New York Times bestseller list and was a finalist for a number of national awards, including the LA Times Book Prize, PEN America's Jean Stein Book Award, and two awards from the National Book Critics Circle Award. If you read this memoir, however, you'll learn so much more.
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