Scan barcode
crybabybea's review against another edition
4.5
Educated does center around abusive familial relationships and neglect, but I appreciated at the attention paid to the emotional experience as a child living in that environment rather than just retelling events. I felt like we really got inside Tara's head both as a child and as an adult, and I think it takes a great writer to pull that off in an interesting way.
Anyone who has survived abuse and/or neglect will relate heavily to Tara's story, even if you haven't experienced the specific flavor of religious fanaticism and doomsday preparation she experienced. I especially liked the inclusion of Tara's many, many experiences gaslighting herself and justifying the behavior of those around her. I found it to be an incredibly relatable and realistic portrayal of the complicated and confusing nature of abusive relationships, especially when those relationships are familial.
I do think this book is a bit mis-marketed sometimes, and a lot of reviewers put emphasis on the survival aspect of the book which I think is the tamest and least important part of all. It actually put me off on picking this book up for so long because I wasn't interested in reading a memoir that centered around doomsday prepping and wilderness survival. Instead, I think the thread that ties the memoir together is the importance of education, and how Tara's own education (in all its good, bad, and ugly forms) shaped her into the person she is today.
I was a bit disappointed that the audiobook wasn't read by the author, but I saw it won an Audie award so I stayed tuned; I didn't particularly like how it made the book come across as disconnected and way less emotional than it should have been. Though I think the narrator herself did a great job and I appreciated the way she used different voices to keep track of the many important people in Tara's story.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Violence, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Blood, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Pregnancy, Racism, Cancer, and Child death
On top of experiencing mental and emotional abuse from her parents, Tara experienced extreme physical and mental abuse from her older brother and retells events in great detail. She also experienced collective gaslighting and emotional abuse from her parents and siblings when she decided to speak up. Tara's father and brother exhibit mental health symptoms such as paranoia, delusions of grandeur, fits of rage, and gaslighting. Tara and her mother worked as midwives so there are multiple passages that include mildly graphic scenes of delivery and one moderately graphic anecdote about a stillborn delivery. There are multiple incidents that result in injury due to lack of safety measures. Including multiple car crashes and accidents while working on the scrapyard, as well as severe burns.hcop's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Antisemitism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Police brutality
Minor: Cancer, Child death, Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Terminal illness
sarahnella's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Cursing, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Child death, Classism, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Antisemitism, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Religious bigotry, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Torture, Cancer, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Sexism
tigerkind's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Death, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Car accident, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexism, Gaslighting, Body horror, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Child abuse, and Medical content
Moderate: Classism, Slavery, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Cancer, and Terminal illness
Minor: Genocide, Islamophobia, Murder, and Police brutality
laurenhill2142's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Car accident, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Violence, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Child abuse
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, Child death, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Gun violence, Blood, and Cancer
aspvisualarts's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Child death, Medical trauma, Sexism, Body horror, Body shaming, Grief, Mental illness, and Violence
faithe's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Medical trauma, Mental illness, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence
Moderate: Racism, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, and Misogyny
Minor: Child death and Cancer
hannalizzy's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Grief, Incest, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Toxic friendship
quil's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Racism, Religious bigotry, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Medical content, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Antisemitism
mme_carton's review against another edition
1.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Ableism, Bullying, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Medical content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual assault, and Violence
Minor: Genocide and Dementia