I found this memoir really refreshing. As far as autobiographies go, Educated by Tara Westover is a brilliant read. It’s thoughtful, charming and just fascinating to know that the author didn’t go to school until she was 17 and till then only read two books: the Bible and the Book of Mormons.
The narrative is fluid and objective – none of the matyr, victimhood. It was very much a tell it as it is and then this happened and this and that and while I’m horrified reading about all the incidences and torture (physically, psychologically and emotionally) she had to endure, there’s this fire in the narrative, that resilience that is full of positivity and can-do.
Well, I suppose she never knew it any other way. I am sure her sheer intelligence is due to good genes, given that several of the 7 siblings have Phds and moved on into the real world, abandoning the survivalist Mormons lifestyle they were raised on.
I read this book in a sitting. And highly recommend it. What struck a cord in me was what she said in an interview:
“You can still love and miss someone and not have them in your life.”
This one is for all the estranged children whose deranged parents were unintentionally cruel while raising them because they don’t know any better.
The Truimph Of Tara Westover
I got curious and read a little more about her back story. Growing up on her father’s scrapyard, physical labour was part of daily life while she also assisted her mother with herbal remedies and midwifery.
Her story is one of how humans have capacity for change and the relentless pursuit of dreams can change one’s course of life!
