Educated
In her best-selling memoir, Educated, Tara Westover chronicles her physically and emotionally abusive upbringing in the mountains of Idaho. Her father, a bipolar, survivalist Mormon (woof), doesn’t believe in sending his kids to public school because he’s vehemently anti-government. Her mother is a submissive woman who thinks she wields holistic healing powers. Tara describes how she, the youngest of seven children, manages to break out of the confines of her home and seek an education.
The memoir is true to its name. It doesn’t talk much about Mormonism; she refers to some of the practical implications of her family’s radical interpretations, especially some really shitty views on women, but she doesn’t address the beliefs head-on. Part of me wishes she had reflected more on her religion. I’m selfishly curious BUT I also think it’s so integral to her upbringing that it’s hard to fully grasp her growth as a person without understanding how her religion morphed alongside her. At the same time, avoiding a direct indictment of Mormonism lends a purity to the book. It gives it the power to draw readers from many backgrounds with the primary goal of reflecting on the life-changing power of education. It also gave me an interesting perspective shift as a reader. TBH, when I think of BYU, a liberal institution of well-rounded education isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But from Tara’s perspective, BYU is an academic haven that opens her horizons and frees her mind.
Tara’s story is incredible. I’m proud of her and I was rooting for her the whole time. She came a suuuuuper long way. When the Twin Towers fell, she had never heard of Islam. She didn’t know about the Holocaust or the civil rights movement until she was 18. Now, home girl has a PhD from Cambridge.
She is a talented writer and she articulates her unique story very well. But, it’s a series of bummer stories: abuse followed by abuse followed by abuse. It’s a constant downer, regardless of the excellent writing. It saps your soul a little bit. I’m going to feel like an asshat for making this comparison, because I don’t like judging a person’s tragic story based on how entertaining it is. Still, as far as dysfunctional upbringings go, I like The Glass Castle more. The family in The Glass Castle (one of my five-flamers) is in constant flux and the chaos makes for a compelling read. I never knew what was going to happen next. In Educated, Tara’s home-life is outrageous, but it’s fairly constant, and the stories of abuse are repetitive. Typing that sentence makes me feel gross, but I’m trying to analyze the book from a literary perspective so SUE ME (plz don’t).
Overall, Tara’s story is both uplifting and heart-wrenching. When she finally gains access to education, she is empowered by choice. She is no longer operating in the limited framework that she inherited. Yet, she feels guilt. She still loves her parents and siblings and wants to maintain relationships with them. Her story makes me extraordinarily thankful that, though I have chosen a different spiritual path than my immediate family, my parents and my siblings have never once wavered in their love for me. They have not made me choose between being true to myself and being in their life. It feels additionally asshatty to jump on the back of Tara and plug my own work, but I am very proud of the writing I’ve published about my religious transformation and I believe it can help people in similar situations. Please ignore my extremely large head in the first article, “Agnostics Need More Support in Coming Out to Family and Friends”. If your interest is still piqued, you can read my next article, “Stop Telling Nonbelievers They Have a Hole in the Hearts,” which also has a poppin off comments section.
When I wrote my pieces (my first piece was Agnostics Anonymous published in OnFaith, which is no longer running, booooo), I had a very cathartic experience. There was strength in articulating what I believed; but, I simultaneously questioned who “I” was and how I could reconcile my current self with the person that I once was. Was that person still a part of me? Sometimes it felt like there needed to be a total severing of my former self to move on. I hear those concerns echoed in Tara’s memoir. She’s only 33 and the severing is fresh, so she hasn’t found peace quite yet. Still, I admire her for speaking her truth and it seems like her efforts are very sincere. I also hope that she has a good therapist.
Educated receives 4 out of 5 flames.
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