Educated

Educated by Tara Westover
Published: 2018
Narrated by: Julia Whelan
Length: 12:10 (334 pages)

This is the harrowing true story of Tara Westover’s journey from a secluded, strictly religious, survivalist family to eventually earning her doctorate at Cambridge. Her parents didn’t believe in school and were very lax on the homeschooling, so this was quite an amazing feat. In fact, when she went to sit her entrance exam for college, she had to ask how the bubble sheets worked. She’d never before taken a school test.

Tara grew up in Ohio under very peculiar circumstances, with a Survivalist Mormon family that was next-level strict, even when compared to the Mormon families around them, and a father that was not only convinced that the end of the world was coming but was excited for it to happen. The hardest part to read, even harder than the abuse she suffered at the hands of her brother, was how neglectful her father was with his children’s safety. He often put them in harm’s way as they worked in the junkyard with him, and if injured they were treated homeopathically, as modern medicine was strictly prohibited. This included dripping diluted essential oils into gaping wounds caused by third-degree burns. It was pure luck that none of them died, although a couple did come close.

I love stories around people finding a passion for education, and this is an extreme example of that. A well-written and fascinating look at how education can completely divide a family like this. Three of the children went on to university and four of them stayed home. Tara’s choice essentially led to her being removed from the family. It left them unable to relate or communicate with each other. I watched an interview where she compared the divide in her family with what’s happening in America right now, which I felt was an apt comparison.

I was sorry to see this end. Even though many aspects of her upbringing were absolutely horrific, it was also interesting to hear some of her happier memories and see what she was able to achieve. Julia Whelan did a great job with the narration.