Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Una Educación by Tara Westover

515 reviews

maria_thebookworm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.75

"There's a world out there, Tara. And it will look a lot different once Dad is no longer whispering his view of it in your ear." 

This book will definitely stay with me forever and is one of my top books of the year so far. 

Educated is a remarkable memoir about Tara Westwood, who grew up in rural Idaho as the youngest child in a large Mormon family. Her father believed doctors were evil, so Tara never received legitimate medical attention as a child, despite needing it many times. Her father was also terrified of the government, so Tara (and some of her siblings) didn't have a birth certificate for years and her mother didn't even remember her real birthday. 

Tara had no education whatsoever growing up, as her father didnt allow her to attend school and neither of her parents legitimately homeschooled her. She got into college by studying for the ACT with the help of her brother. Tara writes in her memoir, "I don't understand why I wasn't allowed to get a decent education as a child.” 

Tara's entire childhood consisted of manual labor, including salvaging in a junk yard and working in construction. As her family didn't believe in going to doctors or hospitals, they suffered through many accidents (gashes, stabs, falls, multiple car accidents), with no medical intervention. Her mother was a midwife who believed in "energy healing", and she "treated" any medical issues with homeopathic remedies. Tara never took painkillers or over the counter medicine of any kind as a child. After a car accident, when Tara likely had a concussion, she only received assistance from an "energy specialist." 

The physical, emotional, and educational neglect was absolutely infuriating to read about, along with the descriptions of physical abuse that Tara experienced at the hands of her violent brother. The gaslighting and betrayal from her family caused deep self-doubt in Tara. However, Tara is incredibly resilient and defied all the odds to receive not only a university degree but also, ultimately, a PhD. 

Reading this book was a brutal roller coaster of emotions.

On a personal level, I related to Tara in growing up in a very strict religious environment with certain beliefs surrounding modesty and modern medicine. Tara had to distance herself from the radical beliefs of her parents and the culture in which she grew up, which is something I relate to, although not to the same extremes. 

The themes of growing up, moving away, forming your own beliefs, and realizing everything you've been taught is either narrow-minded, untrue, or simply evil, are powerful. Tara's incredible writing does not sugarcoat these challenges but rather reveals these experiences in her own life. Healing is not linear, and navigating one's way out of a cult is not easy, but Tara desrcibes her journey with raw and intense self-reflection.  

I highly recommend this book because you will not turn the last page unchanged.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

nytephoenyx's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

4.5

I really enjoyed this book. It was tugged at my soul more than I liked. The radically religious upbringing delivered from a parent living with mental illness was too relatable on many counts. Westover had it worse, but it was all too familiar. Structurally the book is well-written and thought-provoking. It provides an important glimpse into misunderstood worlds, and I could taste the lingering bitterness in Westover’s writing. And I get it.

Good read, definitely one I want to add to me collection.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexism, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

izzyclemente's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad tense

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

jaamajam's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

Wow, this book is incredible and such a powerful memoir. Some parts were definitely very hard to read and it made me quite emotional 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, Racism, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

meganeliz_1214's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

vagrantheather's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.75

Educated is a memoir of growing up in rural Idaho as the unschooled wild child of religious fundamentalists, then choosing not to live the life they carved out.

It was an excellent portrait of physical and emotional abuse, of the toll untreated mental illness can take on an entire family, and of how people confront their own beliefs systems.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

soupqueen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Dementia, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

chrysos79's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Body shaming, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Miscarriage, Racial slurs, and Antisemitism

palindrometodd's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Abandonment

riley_abc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Racial slurs