Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Una Educación by Tara Westover

142 reviews

krhe's review

challenging dark slow-paced

2.75

Qué dolor y qué denso de leer. Una mierda de experiencia pero la forma de escribir pues pffff. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

nnennaya_'s review against another edition

challenging dark informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

5.0

I feel displaced after reading Tara's story. Tara’s story has made me cower with fear, disgust, anger, bewilderment, and disbelief in my own ears and mind, utterly horrified. Thank you for sharing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Dysphoria

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Racial slurs

Minor: Cancer and Antisemitism

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

gabrielab's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Violence, Medical content, Car accident, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

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

blkbltchic's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

5.0

This was an excellent read. Already very interesting on the concept of growing up in a religious extremist household to slowly come to grips with external reality. A wonderful journey worth reading. I hope our author is in a much better place now. 

I

I usually don't place I'll will toward people but istfg if her brother "Shawn" isn't in prison or in the dirt 😡😤👊

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty

There are some seriously gripping portions involving familial abuse, I don't know how else to phrase it.

ksilvio's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

eve81's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Medical content, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Cancer

mal_03's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, and Pregnancy

elderwoodreads's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

I was a bit hesitant to read this as I feel memoirs in this genre (person denied education receives education) can be a little one note. This is the book of the genre. Westover is an amazing writer both in her storytelling as well as her reflection. Must read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Dementia, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis