"Educated" by Tara Westover
Curiosity + Persistence = Goals
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I swear with every book I have read this year I realize just how naïve I actually am. When I was reading “Educated”, I realized at some point that author, Tara Westover, is my age. Which means all these events that happened in her life, happened during mine and at the same time! Before I go further into how my brain exploded with this thought, let me summarize this book:
This is a memoir about a young woman and her path into finding an education - all whilst growing up in a Mormon family whose Father was obsessed with prepping them for the end of the world. This is, as I’ve learned, still happening to many young children now. I’m not referring to homeschooling or even having Dads that think ‘the end is coming’. I’m referring to this leash parents have on their children- not giving them chances and squishing hope even before children realize they can hope.
What makes Tara’s journey so powerful is that she is not perfect and has made so many mistakes trying to escape her parents’ clutches. I think because she didn’t realize she was trying to escape. Can you imagine how confusing that must be for someone? But in the end, she was led by her curiosity - it was just the natural course of things. Holding someone back, especially a child, to pursue their dreams (or simply just learning about them) is tragic.
I’m extremely impressed and motivated with Tara’s persistence in learning. Even with the skewed perception she obtained by living with her Father, she manages to overcome (although through many embarrassments) and keeps studying. She insists pushing herself forward as though saying, “I can’t change the past, but I can shape my future.” What an incredible story.
| Pub Date: | March 7, 2019 | Page Count: | 411 Pages | ISBN: | 9780399590504 |