Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

L'educazione by Tara Westover

305 reviews

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

dreamsonpaper's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

This poignant narrative of self education is immersive, vulnerable and self- actualizing.  It is a must-read for anyone who ever felt unheard and had to make a new path for themselves.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Religious bigotry

wogslandwriter's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

This book deserves all the hype. It is a phenomenal memoir and it is obvious that it was loving writing by an author with a PhD in history. Westover has an elegant and immersive writing style that captures the reader's attention and communicates the nuance and true danger of her past. She is able to tell stories of abuse and control and toxic family dynamics while still holding the love she has for her family at the same time. As someone with a controlling father, it was hard to read, but also very cathartic to get Westover's perspective and hear her story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

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

elizabethtm's review against another edition

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Chronic illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Antisemitism, Car accident, and Classism

simone_ebony's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

An incredible story, and an incredible storyteller. This will stick with me and I can definitely see myself rereading this in the future.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, and Suicidal thoughts

ahoyitsjoy's review against another edition

dark hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Such a good memoir. Westover relates the most harrowing and heartbreaking events of her life with the detached perspective of a reporter. Letting these events stands on their own just makes them hit you in the gut even harder. Her skill as a writer is all the more incredible considering her upbringing.

To everyone who understands too well why the author kept going back to her family, again and again: I hope we all find our peace someday.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy

Minor: Racism and Antisemitism

tattedtrashreader's review against another edition

challenging dark informative tense slow-paced

3.0

Tara Westover is a great writer and I appreciate that her childhood and adolescence was difficult and what she has overcome. I also understand that removing yourself from abuse is excruciatingly hard and that often survivors go back because it’s familiar. She’s incredible for overcoming her situation to get a doctorate and make her life her own. To preface my review, I grew up in a home similar to, but significantly less intense than Dr. Westover and I could relate to her feelings and to the messages pushed on her as a child because I heard similar ones. 

I, however, struggled with the repeated acts of violence that were ignored, justified, and manipulated by her parents and siblings (and her a lot of times) and that her siblings that left did not support or help the others get out who wanted to. I wanted to hear more in-depth about her studies, what she discovered for the first time but that was rarely touched on. 

The repeated head injuries, car accidents, and major trauma that they each endured without seeing a medical professional is astounding to me. 

I have many of the same concerns as others who read the book and wondered where their family got the money and how her mother’s tinctures became so popular (that they became millionaires?) and why no one in their town ever said anything about the abuse and such going on, even when they “hired” the other women to work (but apparently women aren’t supposed to work) for their tincture business. I don’t understand how there were basically no witnesses ever. 

I wanted to understand how her worldview changed when she got to college and learn about how she overcame her education challenges but that’s not explored deeply in the second half of the book. It’s just parental abuse. The abuse is the main theme of the book, not getting an education. 

I found myself getting increasingly frustrated with everything her parents and Shawn did to the point where I just wanted the book to be over. Idk. About halfway through I was over it and hate-finished it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

ajnagle's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

emileemaree's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Violence, Car accident, and Gaslighting

Minor: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content