Educating: A Memoir

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And what about relationships with the neighbors? In chapter 26: “People, Politics, and Persecution” LaRee tells us, “Our family had to bear the maltreatment meted out by those who were unwilling to make room for broader ways of thinking.” A journal entry from February 20, 2005, records the following: “The events of the past few weeks and the past day or two, particularly, have brought to my attention that nothing has really changed after all.” She continues, “The fact is, there are some neighbors who seem to dislike me for who I am and would likely feel no remorse for any amount of trouble and inconvenience they could cause me and mine, so long as they could do it legally.” It was hard to know when I disagreed with some things so much because of my beliefs or if I was judging the person because I was raised and have chosen a different lifestyle. One example of this would be the father often disregarding safety protocols causing him or him his family terrible injuries. I had many friends including some in the church of the LDS so I have some appreciation of the nature of the environment social and geographical. It therefore makes me sad to hear of such discord. I find Tara’s character was very honest , powerful , courageous knowing the fact that her father , brother or any other family member are quite capable to harm her both emotionally & physically after her book had published. It is not easy for anyone to step forward and talk about her sufferings so openly. especially Tara who loves her family & tried many times to be accepted by them. Moreover in her book and for that matter in all the interviews I have watched , she has always said that her family loves her but their beliefs are way too different & she has given her perspective without disgracing anyone.

Val also remembers the family “going to church and sitting in an available pew and watching as people near us got up and moved away without speaking a word.” I hope the family reconcile as its one life & all good and bad needs to be sorted here in this life. I have become a big fan of Tara, her composed talks in public , her maturity is very high level for her age. I heard her singing & her voice is very melodious & therapeutic. Most perplexing was the last three chapters in which she talks about the growing distance between her family and her youngest daughter – Tara – the author of “educated.” Dr. Kerry: Westover's professor at BYU. He helps her get a spot in the study abroad program to Cambridge and encourages/supports her in her academic career.

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I understand the desire to be off grid and out of government structures but the protections seem to be lost and the exposure of the family to danger seems unforgivable. Regarding higher education, many readers of the book have concluded that Tara attended formal higher education against apparently insurmountable odds. Perhaps it is not that surprising after all. Of the seven children in our family, six of them attended formal higher education classes (Luke is the only one who has not, and as described in Tara’s book, classroom education is not really his thing). In addition, both our mother “Faye” and our father “Gene” attended at least one year of university classes each. Our mother frequently encouraged me from a young age to prepare to attend university classes by the time I was sixteen. On the other hand, our father has expressed great dissatisfaction with the hubris associated with university education as well as its bias toward liberal thinking. Tara was finally issued a Delayed Certificate of Birth when she was nine. Even then, there was a discrepancy on her birth date that had to be corrected. Her brother’s birth date was uncertain as well. Except for a tiny mention that you almost miss, LaRee doesn’t explain the why behind not getting birth certificates. Tara says it’s because her father suddenly decided to end his personal “ten-year policy of not registering with the Government” (p. 19). Tara Westover (February 20, 2018). Educated: A Memoir. Random House Publishing Group. p.1. ISBN 978-0-399-59051-1.

Educated is a brilliant book & strongly recommend for everyone to read. I am sure Educating must be good too but it is written in self defence.Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis – Schooling in Capitalist America: Educational Reform and the Contradictions of Economic Life (1976) I want to tell the story of my life as I really lived it. I want my grandchildren to know who their grandmother is and was, and I want to be a force for good in their lives. Also, I feel a compelling desire to shine a light of accuracy on homeschooling, herbal medicine, and the living of a conservative and Christian way of life. In fact, several serious injuries occur to all the siblings when machines malfunction or metal punctures a limb. As a reader, you become very concerned about what happens there. But LaRee avoids the topic for the most part and focuses almost exclusively on her midwife and homeopathic careers and on their current company Butterfly Expressions.

Drew: Westover's boyfriend during the third part of the memoir. He is the first boyfriend whom she tells about her family and her upbringing. It definitely leaves me a little unsettled. I’m sad for the distance and pain that the parents describe, but I cannot forget how relieved I was when I read about Tara gaining distance and mental health from the abuse that she experienced from her parents and brother TravisOne part that was particularly interesting to me was her account of her teenage boyfriend’s control. The author's healing from this led her to have to build up her self confidence again & learn how to stand up for herself. I believe she also included this to prove that she herself has made her own decisions including for decision to marry Val, partner with him with a survivalist, homeschool, no medicine, nontraditional lifestyle. Thank you for your thorough and thoughtful review of both books. I especially appreciated your statement: “one can be a “less-active member” or “nonmember” and still be considered a good Christian and a good person.” I hope too that you may consider the possibility that one can be a non-Christian and still be a good person. I can’t wrap my head around this book. It was gross. It felt gross reading it. She should have never written it and just left Tara’s story alone, her and Val looked better that way. It’s much worse now. So cringey. UPDATE: Comments are turned off on this post. My intent is not to trash on Tara’s family. This is a book review. Over time, comments have simply rehashed certain opinions. If anything, the family could use prayers—all of them. Those are my thoughts and feelings–January 2023.