Tara Westover was seventeen when she first set foot in a classroom. Instead of traditional lessons, she grew up learning how to stew herbs into medicine, scavenging in the family scrap yard and helping her family prepare for the apocalypse. She had no birth certificate and no medical records and had never been enrolled in school.
Westover’s mother proved a marvel at concocting folk remedies for many ailments. As Tara developed her own coping mechanisms, little by little, she started to realize that what her family was offering didn’t have to be her only education. Her first day of university was her first day in school—ever—and she would eventually win an esteemed fellowship from Cambridge and graduate with a PhD in intellectual history and political thought.
I had seen this book advertised and read all the hype regarding this, so thought I would like to read it. I found Part 1 of the book hard going. It seemed to drag along and not go anywhere fast. However Part's 2 & 3 made up for it and I found it a book I didn't want to put down as I had to know what was going to happen next.
What happened in the author's life and what she found "normal," beggars belief. The way her dad controlled the family made no sense at all too me. However he was such an extremist that there was no way he was ever going to change. The accidents that happened in the family and how they coped/dealt with them made me shake my head.
How the author managed to do what she did with her life is a miracle in itself. You want to blame religion for this way of life but that wasn't the problem here. It had a hand in it, but there were many other factors to blame. It reminded me of a cult environment in the way they functioned.
Stars out of 5 : 4 I sat here shaking my head many times throughout this book while reading it. When you are brainwashed from a very young age, you just don't know anything different. So having three of the siblings go onto higher education from this family is an achievement in itself. This book was an eye opener and it's one to read; if only to realize how lucky we are.
This is my own review; I borrowed the book from my local library.
This sounds interesting! Off to see if our library has it in kindle form!
ReplyDeleteI read this book last month - couldn't put it down. As you said, what she overcame was truly astonishing and just shows the difference that an education can make in someone's life - an amazing story. I gave it 5 out of 5.
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