'Educated: A Memoir' by Tara Westover

Educated: A Memoir, Tara Westover (3.0)

I had a hard time concocting a review for this book. When asked whether I liked it, my gut reaction is ‘no’, though I have few words to describe why. My fellow book club readers mostly found it enthralling and applauded the strength the author showed throughout her survival.  While I still cannot account for my discomfort with the book, I do recognize a feeling of ‘bait and switch’ and lots of uncertainty. The book is touted as a memoir of a woman who grew up in a Mormon survivalist family in Idaho. She didn’t go to school or get professional medical care, but she managed to go to college and get her PhD. Unfortunately, the bottom line is this is a story of abuse, both mental and physical. While difficult to read, the value of a memoir is hearing about the events from someone who lived them. In this case, the author’s family disputes the events as told by Ms. Westover. I believe she is giving an accurate telling of things as she experienced them, but that didn’t help the story for me. Her doubts after the fact as to major aspects made things confusing and didn’t feel necessary. I also had a feeling some things were exaggerated in hindsight (e.g. the lack of home schooling and the extent of some of the medical emergencies). Lastly, the author is still quite young and obviously conflicted about her current situation with regards to her family. I don’t like to be negative, but the satisfaction the reader wants of knowing she ‘survived’ is possibly premature. While I believe part of her healing is writing this memoir, I would have liked to read it later in her life.