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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.bashsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Westover has a vivid and transporting sense of description, and Whelan reads her words with a measured and flowing cadance (although I could do without her attempts at Idaho accents and masculine tones when reading dialogue). Westover is also extremely cognizant of the core of memoir - that it is one person's truth, and that one person's truth has power. Add that to how it demonstrates the highly political nature of education, and of course Westover has a captivating book.
That said, I feel part of the appeal for a lot of people is the shock of Westover's upbringing and a certain desire to gawk. This gawking desire draws lots of people to memoirs, but Educated is especially primed for it. I have to wonder how others are engaging with it - hopefully more than on a 'damn, that was crazy' level.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Car accident, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body shaming, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Animal death, Racism, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, and Misogyny
Moderate: Gun violence, Domestic abuse, and Xenophobia
Minor: Cancer
theshanana's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Car accident, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, and Racism
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Cancer, Dementia, Death, and Death of parent
pandemonicbaby's review against another edition
5.0
This book is such a marvelous, deeply interesting exploration of the power of education, of the meaning of family, of struggling with abuse and still being able to forge an identity for yourself afterward. Her path towards education is also a path towards being able to think for herself, instead of being told what to think by others. This might be the strongest, most powerful message woven in between the threads of this memoir, an ode to finding yourself through education.
So much nuance, so many tiny little intricacies present in the text show that Tara Westover truly is a historian -- that she's able to see the many different versions of a story and present them to the reader, making them reflect upon the significance and meaning of each unique account. "[...] nothing final can be known", as she quotes John Stuart Mill.
I feel like I'm going to reread this soon, just so I can underline the passages in this book that are so powerful they would make anyone stop reading just to reflect upon them. I shouldn't have been scared of underlining this book, gosh!! I gotta start being more willing to do that, whenever I think it might be important to me.
All in all, wonderful book. Marvelously crafted, beautiful writing, moving and powerful message. I cried reading this. I think it will stay with me forever.
Graphic: Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Sexism, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Blood, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Murder, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, and Grief
Minor: Vomit, Racism, Miscarriage, Mass/school shootings, and Genocide
insideunder's review
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Violence, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexism
Moderate: Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cancer, Medical content, Body shaming, Classism, and Death of parent
somberlittleman's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Cancer
marissasa's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Cursing, Bullying, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Violence, Animal death, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Medical content, and Mental illness
naomib_'s review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Bullying, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Murder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Body shaming, Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, and Racial slurs
Minor: Blood, Murder, and Abandonment
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
emilyrollande's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Medical content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Medical trauma, and Physical abuse
Minor: Cancer and Cursing