Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Educated by Tara Westover

235 reviews

rkap's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Medical content

Moderate: Animal death

kinleydoes's review against another edition

emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Classism

Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Genocide, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, and War

katlinstirling_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.0

Educated by Tara Westover is a well-written,thought-provoking, fascinating and a powerful memoir. Overcoming and breaking free from her survivalist Mormon family  in order to go to college. This is Tara’s reminder to everything that education extends beyond the walls of the community and encompasses our everyday experiences and to question our ingrained beliefs. Emotional, heartbreaking yet utterly moving and deeply inspiring. I applaud Tara for her honesty and resilience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

miggyfool's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

blovessummer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Really heavy in terms of what Tara went through but exceptionally well written and super interesting.

emmasmidnightlibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

krhe's review against another edition

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

kathleentcarroll's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

2.0

I felt like almost every chapter was unnecessarily filled with traumatic and gory details with very little payoff; I’ve read memoirs from other authors who have experienced traumatic events without feeling like I was reading a slog of someone’s every trauma, but westover couldn’t do that. I also felt like she omitted so much detail about HOW she became educated, achieved these impossible feats, and made it out. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

akendall20's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

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