Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Educated by Tara Westover

68 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. 

---

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. 

---

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

aliwhaley's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

This book is fantastic and tragic and inspiring all at once. It’s hard to believe people like this really exist, and the fact that they do is so harrowing. With or without the Mormonism and end-of-days bent, these stories of manipulation and abuse play out time and again, and it is so difficult to read it from inside the mind of the victim. I am so impressed by Dr. Tara Westover.

As a writer, her ability to convey at once how she felt at the time events unfolded, whilst also conveying the incongruity of those feelings now that she has reflected and grown, but also having compassion for her former self is astonishing. She writes terrifying people, and yet their moments of loveableness are believable. You feel every blow with her.

And, as a human, her strength is just incredible. I wish everybody in a similar situation could read this book and know they’re not in the wrong

All the content warnings - this is not a light read 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, and Violence

Moderate: Gun violence and Genocide

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

criticalmiss's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

5.0

Devastating, fascinating, heartbreaking. This story is one of perseverance and the search for understanding of family and one’s self. 
This is a hard read and could definitely be triggering for some. 
TW: injury, child abuse, abuse, mental illness, guns, animal death

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Gun violence, Pregnancy, and Medical trauma

texashippie's review

dark inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Racism, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Sexism, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Misogyny, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse

madelinedalton's review against another edition

challenging inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Violence, Medical trauma, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Mental illness, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

ande13's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

This book was very well written, but also very graphic. Growing up in an abusive and manipulative family myself (though for entirely different reasons), there were many times I could relate with the author on a very deep level. Please be advised that there are a lot of triggers in this book, but it’s worth making it through them if you can because the overall story of her life was amazing.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.75

Well constructed memoir about growing up without an education in mormon idaho, links to abuse, education, mental health, religion etc

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Gaslighting, Grief, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Violence, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Religious bigotry

taynicole2698's review

challenging reflective tense slow-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Car accident, Stalking, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Gaslighting, and Body horror

jesscoast's review

challenging emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

5.0

Top tier memoir, in my view. I couldn’t put it down, despite having to squeeze my eyes shut in some gruesome, shocking, and bloody scenes. The unlikely story is compelling, vivid, and inspiring. It was more about mental illness than I was prepared for, and the complex dynamic of family obligation and self preservation in an abusive, isolated, fanatically religious household. Though Westovers education was her escape from a dim future, the premise unfortunately highlights the unfortunate prospects for the many uneducated children with similar origins. Still, her curiosity and determination can serve as a guide, and hopefully will help out others who need this guide.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, and Gaslighting