Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Una Educación by Tara Westover

98 reviews

melissasaurus's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Medical trauma

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

Humans are such wonderful and terrifying beings, which I think this book really spells out. They can be so incredibly hurtful and so helpful and dangerous and damaging and also somehow make it out okay. This book is really shocking, but it also shows how deeply mental illness can affect a family and community. I'm really proud of Tara for making it out. This book was a wild read because most memoirs are on lives that happened before Google and you can't actually buy essential oils from their parents at this very moment. The writing style wasn't my favorite, but I thought it was fitting for the story and subject. Definitely a book that I would recommend folks to read. I think it got the publicity that it deserved. I just feel for all the children (all the children) still trapped in that family system. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Classism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, and Alcohol

Big content warnings about bodily injuries.

carmentxx's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

this book is written with the most incredible hope. i have never read a book with such an incredible undercurrent of the force of hope, in fact it has moved me to tears reading it. i don’t think i really have words for how incredible this memoir is. only an overwhelming sense of sadness, respect, hope and admiration for Dr Westover. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Antisemitism

laurajordensharris's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

micheller0se's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

madflatt's review against another edition

dark informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Dementia

kkpines's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Minor: Domestic abuse and Cultural appropriation

pandemonicbaby's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

I think this book might have changed my life.
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.

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Content Warnings

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

marketa_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

hcop's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, and Antisemitism

Minor: Cancer, Child death, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, and Death of parent