Tara Westover’s 2019 memoir Educated is an inspiring, honest and moving story of her life and her pursuit of learning. Westover grew up in a Mormon fundamentalist family in rural Idaho, and was raised off the grid in a remote mountain cabin with threats of the apocalypse looming. With the majority of her life unbeknownst to the outside world, she was denied any kind of formal education and rejected any beliefs that were contrary to her family’s religious life.
Westover’s childhood was rife with chaos and danger. Her father, a survivalist, was a major influence on the family’s lifestyle and his extreme paranoia frequently put the family on edge. In addition to threats of y2k disaster, he believed doctors and the government were untrustworthy and sought to keep his children away from doctors. Westover lived without vital medical care, leading to serious injuries such as a severe burn at the age of seven that almost killed her and untreated post-traumatic stress disorder from a severe car accident she experienced at sixteen.
Despite unimaginable obstacles, Westover defied expectations; she was determined to educate herself and eventually pursue higher education. Her journey to academic success is remarkable, beginning with her earliest teachings at home and transitioning to teaching herself with books and other resources. After teaching herself enough to score sufficiently on standardized tests, she was accepted to Brigham Young University and Harvard followed by a doctoral program at Cambridge.
Along the way, Westover is faced with difficult choices between her family and her education. She often worries that her parents will be upset with her decisions, but insists on going ahead. Her education comes with a cost, as she realizes that failure to continue attending college, would mean a life of poverty, abuse and a secluded existence in her isolated mountain home.
Throughout Educated, Westover tells her story in an intensely personal and brave manner, never shying away from the parts that were difficult. Inspirational and gripping, the memoir begins as a journey to self-education and develops into a tale about Westover's battle to break away from the oppressive beliefs of her family and the community she grew up in. With constant hardship and adversity from her family, Westover endured and eventually found her place in the world, proving that one’s past does not necessarily dictate their future.
