Book Review – Educated

“If [J. D.] Vance’s memoir offered street-heroin-grade drama, [Tara] Westover’s is carfentanil, the stuff that tranquilizes elephants. The extremity of Westover’s upbringing emerges gradually through her telling, which only makes the telling more alluring and harrowing. . . . By the end, Westover has somehow managed not only to capture her unsurpassable exceptional upbringing, but to make her current situation seem not so exceptional at all, and resonant for many others.”—The New York Times Book Review

When a book makes the New York Times Best Seller, I take notice. I don’t have the opportunity to read all best sellers, but they are on my ‘to be read list.’ If you are an author or blogger, you know reading is one of the best ways to enhance your writing. Experts tell us to read books within our genre. I’ve read and reviewed several memoirs and Educated ranks high on my list.

All three of my books are memoirs, yet I list one of them as fiction based on real-life events. My memoir What Did I Do?, is the account of the abuse I received as a child. There were so many times while reading Educated, I could relate to Tara Westover’s emotional state because of similar abuse. Her feeling of helplessness and confusion as to the reality of the world around her was familiar feelings for me.

I was shocked that in the ’90s children in America could be raised in a societary vacuum. How did children not have some birth records? How did a family go unchallenged for keeping their children from schools? How did their family and neighbors allow the abuse without intervention?

Unfortunately, child abuse proliferates today as it did when I was a child. My family, neighbors, and teachers turned their heads to my abuse and refused to intervene. It is not difficult for me to understand Tara Westover’s narcissistic father and how he controlled his family. I found it difficult to comprehend how someone known in their community could be as anti-establishment and radically religious as the Westover family and not bring intervention from the authorities. How did Tara’s brothers sustain the severity of injury without medical treatment and not have law enforcement investigate?

I remember my struggles of guilt when I left home. I remember the confusion of what was reality and how my parents explained it was their duty to teach me right from wrong. They called it ‘tough love,’ and it was to prepare me for adulthood.

Tara Westover in Educated felt sinful when she turned against the teachings of her father. She felt her faith challenged if she sought medical attention. She felt insecure and unworthy of success when she began her separation from the family and initiated her education. I wanted to scream at her when individuals offered assistance, and she felt it was wrong to accept it.

The story in itself was captivating, but the writing style and expertise of Ms. Westover was an enlightenment for me. Her ability to draw the reader into the emotional reality of her world kept me turning pages. I kept recognizing the proficiency of using the senses ‘to show and not tell’ with her writing. However, she does have a doctorate from Cambridge.

When I read a book that touches the reality of my life, it becomes memorable. Tara’s challenge to overcome the low self-esteem and self-conscientiousness was a familiar feeling. Her determination to survive and break free from the oppressive family was exhilarating.

If you read books for entertainment, then Educated won’t be an enjoyable read. However, if true human interest stories with emotional highs and lows enthrall you, don’t miss reading this book. It has to be a top shelf memoir of our times.