Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Una educación by Tara Westover

300 reviews

stephanie_jmc's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.75

This is one of the best memoirs I’ve ever read. 9.5/10. 

Tara’s story is truly moving and really speaks to the reality that parents have the power to strongly influence and control us and completely alter one’s view on the world and reality. Her book really opens the conversation on the impact of having an abusive parent (and sibling), the trauma of having a mentally ill parent, the deeply influential power of core beliefs, the (potential) trauma of religion, and the power in being able to ask questions, learn something new, walk away from toxicity, and change your own narrative. Tara’s story is told perfectly and I am so impressed by her resilience and ability to overcome the abuse and gaslighting and find her own way. I will warn that there is some pretty graphic content in this book and I genuinely felt my heart drop at the idea that this was the reality of Tara’s upbringing. 

The story does start out slow but it unravels in a way that will have you rooting for Tara. I absolutely recommend reading this book. 

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kenleighh13's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective

4.0


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bootrat's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

Very interesting, well written, and worth reading. But make sure you check the full list of trigger warnings! There's a lot of Heavy stuff in this book. Poor Tara.

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mal_03's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.75

The first memior I actually got to the end of. I'm much more of a fast paced book reader but something about Tara's story makes you want to keep going.

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isabelreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

a memoir that takes beautiful advantage of the form to explore the nature of memory, abuse and family within Mormon fundamentalism. It hit the humanities educator in me with the consistency of how often arts and knowledge by way of a good teacher can shape the life of students in myriad ways while also reminding the current PhD student in me that this is possible and why I pursue knowledge within the academy. truly a staple on the genre for many years to come.

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elizabethtm's review against another edition

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4.25


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summerashley's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

5.0

I wish I could rate it higher.  Honestly this was a powerful story. Recommend everyone reads once! 

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emilayday's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

5.0


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addimop's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

4.0

Loved the book but at times the subject matter was horrific. I’ve read a lot of homeschool memoirs this year but this was by far the most violent. 

The author is such a great case study for the power of education. I loved how she tied her thesis back to her religion in a way where Mormonism was neither lauded or criticized, even if she was no longer religious. I also loved the discussions on how mental health affects an entire family and the fall outs that can result. 

Overall another great depiction of the power men have in religion and religious institutions and how far people (especially women who love them) will go to protect these men.


Last thing… to everyone who replies “Oh like Educated?” when I say I was homeschooled…. fuck you

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betwixtbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0


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