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bookish_in_bklyn's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
crybabybea's review against another edition
4.5
Educated does center around abusive familial relationships and neglect, but I appreciated at the attention paid to the emotional experience as a child living in that environment rather than just retelling events. I felt like we really got inside Tara's head both as a child and as an adult, and I think it takes a great writer to pull that off in an interesting way.
Anyone who has survived abuse and/or neglect will relate heavily to Tara's story, even if you haven't experienced the specific flavor of religious fanaticism and doomsday preparation she experienced. I especially liked the inclusion of Tara's many, many experiences gaslighting herself and justifying the behavior of those around her. I found it to be an incredibly relatable and realistic portrayal of the complicated and confusing nature of abusive relationships, especially when those relationships are familial.
I do think this book is a bit mis-marketed sometimes, and a lot of reviewers put emphasis on the survival aspect of the book which I think is the tamest and least important part of all. It actually put me off on picking this book up for so long because I wasn't interested in reading a memoir that centered around doomsday prepping and wilderness survival. Instead, I think the thread that ties the memoir together is the importance of education, and how Tara's own education (in all its good, bad, and ugly forms) shaped her into the person she is today.
I was a bit disappointed that the audiobook wasn't read by the author, but I saw it won an Audie award so I stayed tuned; I didn't particularly like how it made the book come across as disconnected and way less emotional than it should have been. Though I think the narrator herself did a great job and I appreciated the way she used different voices to keep track of the many important people in Tara's story.
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Racism, and Pregnancy
On top of experiencing mental and emotional abuse from her parents, Tara experienced extreme physical and mental abuse from her older brother and retells events in great detail. She also experienced collective gaslighting and emotional abuse from her parents and siblings when she decided to speak up. Tara's father and brother exhibit mental health symptoms such as paranoia, delusions of grandeur, fits of rage, and gaslighting. Tara and her mother worked as midwives so there are multiple passages that include mildly graphic scenes of delivery and one moderately graphic anecdote about a stillborn delivery. There are multiple incidents that result in injury due to lack of safety measures. Including multiple car crashes and accidents while working on the scrapyard, as well as severe burns.itsgnat's review against another edition
2.0
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Pregnancy
growfromit's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
theshanana's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual harassment
Minor: Cancer, Death, Dementia, and Death of parent
pandemonicbaby's review against another edition
5.0
This book is such a marvelous, deeply interesting exploration of the power of education, of the meaning of family, of struggling with abuse and still being able to forge an identity for yourself afterward. Her path towards education is also a path towards being able to think for herself, instead of being told what to think by others. This might be the strongest, most powerful message woven in between the threads of this memoir, an ode to finding yourself through education.
So much nuance, so many tiny little intricacies present in the text show that Tara Westover truly is a historian -- that she's able to see the many different versions of a story and present them to the reader, making them reflect upon the significance and meaning of each unique account. "[...] nothing final can be known", as she quotes John Stuart Mill.
I feel like I'm going to reread this soon, just so I can underline the passages in this book that are so powerful they would make anyone stop reading just to reflect upon them. I shouldn't have been scared of underlining this book, gosh!! I gotta start being more willing to do that, whenever I think it might be important to me.
All in all, wonderful book. Marvelously crafted, beautiful writing, moving and powerful message. I cried reading this. I think it will stay with me forever.
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Genocide, Miscarriage, Racism, Vomit, and Mass/school shootings
autisticwhimsydreamgirl's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Dementia, and Pregnancy
insideunder's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Classism
snipinfool's review against another edition
4.0
Tara and her family spent their days working with Gene, gathering scrap metal to sell or building barns. It was hard and, at times, dangerous. The children were often injured. The family also helped create tinctures and other concoctions with their mother, Faye, who was an herbalist. Later, Tara helped her mother when she became a midwife. As Tara grew older and the older siblings left the house, she was abused by one of her brothers. She learned how to tread lightly around him, but often, not even that kept him from attacking her. Either her parents did not believe her when she told them what her brother had done or they told her that he was sorry and they were through talking about it.
Her brother, Tyler, decided to leave and go to college. He had borrowed textbooks to teach himself and was able to pass the ACT to get into Brigham Young University. Tara eventually did the same and was able to get into BYU also. She was seventeen when she stepped into a classroom for the first time. This was a whole new world for Tara and one where she did not know the rules. She did not let that stop her and she flourished.
I had a hard time putting this book down. The world Tara came from was so different from the one I was raised in. The hardships she dealt with in her family relationships and those in the outside world would have stopped many from trying to accomplish what they needed to do to be happy. I had a difficult time with how her parents handled the abuse from her brother. I can’t understand why they allowed it to continue. I am glad she had the support of her brother, Tyler, when she was planning to go to college. If she hadn’t, she might have never left.
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
somberlittleman's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Cancer