Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Educated by Tara Westover

238 reviews

tigerkind's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

Both praising and criticizing this  feels wrong, as it contains  fairly detailed accounts of abuse. However, it was extremely well written and constructed, allowing for a reflection on the broader systematic workings of power relations in religion, family and education. Even though a memoir, it was at times written with so much detail and emotion that I had to remind myself I was listening to a non-fiction work and not a novel by Barbara Kingsolver. Unfortunately, it feels like the legal challenges the author apparently faced, which forced her to include disclaimers, paraphrase and use pseudonyms, somewhat hampered the overall impact of the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Death, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Car accident, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexism, Gaslighting, Body horror, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Child abuse, and Medical content

Moderate: Classism, Slavery, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Cancer, and Terminal illness

Minor: Genocide, Islamophobia, Murder, and Police brutality

erisouls's review

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

I don’t have the words to explain how profound an experience reading this book was. All I can do is highly recommend it to everyone I know who reads. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Misogyny, Blood, Car accident, Abandonment, Animal death, and Body horror

chamomile_calm's review

dark informative sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Blood and Car accident

Minor: Animal death

heatherchrisman's review

dark emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Car accident, Mental illness, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Racism, Body shaming, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Blood, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Violence

jpn99's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Misogyny, Animal death, Grief, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

maddiet425's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Car accident, Physical abuse, Animal death, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Gore, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Racial slurs and Antisemitism

phantomgecko's review

challenging medium-paced

3.0

I avoided reading this book for a long time because I was pretty sure it'd make me angry. I literally know people mentioned in this book because I married into the extended family. At first, I just heard from that extended family how much of it was untrue and mean. Then I became more familiar with the family and realized I'd probably be more on Tara's side than not.

People from back home have been asking me about this book, and I was embarrassed. "My husband isn't like that. I'm not like that," I wanted to scream. But I didn't know exactly what the book said, so it was hard to defend.

Though doubtlessly exaggerated or bent in certain places, the gist of this memoir rings true. (I've met her father, and tbh, you can only tell he has burn scars if you look super carefully and closely, for example.) Especially with the extended witness testimony, particularly of her brothers, I believe for sure there was an abusive situation, and Tara is as yet still being gaslighted about the whole thing.

I read an article about the family and their reaction that was published just this year (2023), just to really hear both sides. (I know these people but I'm not tight, ya feel? Second cousins and such.) And legit the things some family members said in the article felt exactly the same as how Tara had written them. 

So, still I am embarrassed. Embarrassed that so many people that live in proximity to where I am now legitimately think and act the way of the Westovers in the book. I mean mostly in reference to all the fake medicine and energy healing bs, but also definitely with anti-government sentiment.

I'm glad Tara extricated herself from a garbage situation, and she shouldn't mend ties until they apologize, imho. The writing in engaging, the structure effective, and the musings though provoking.

Though this book isn't about me, I feel it reflects on where I live, so please don't judge Idaho too harshly. And I have to accept some people are stupid and will remain stupid, and there's nothing I can do about it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Antisemitism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Racial slurs

elspethmigliore's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

this was such a powerful read. tara’s writing is so beautiful and reflective. 

i can’t imagine myself rereading, but maybe ☑️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Miscarriage, Gore, Grief, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Racism, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Medical trauma, and Medical content

rasha_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

When I first added this book to my TBR, upon the recommendation of my sister, I expected a dark beginning but a story that would culminate in personal triumph proving the power of the written word.

Instead, what I read was a beautifully written and yet dark descent into the blackest recesses of bigotry, misogyny and madness where we are a witness to abuse of the worst kind: physical and mental by a family member compounded with disbelief due to small minded religious fervour caused, in part, by mental illness. The contrast of such beautifully written prose with the psychological horror of the author’s experience is not one you will easily forget. 

At it’s core, this book, even with its recounting of such a subject as abuse, is an in depth look into the effects of mental and physical violence on the psyche of the author and the journey she takes to emerge a different person with vastly altered perceptions. The education to which she refers is not just that of books and academia but of her world and self moving from how she is defined and confined by her family to how she defines and therefore claims her own identity and agency.

A gripping cautionary tale that is poignant and relevant; definitely one of those books that should be on one’s must read list before you die.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Car accident, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Blood, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse

biblionam's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Blood, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Violence