Growing up in rural Idaho I found this to be an authentic story. Every rural community in Idaho has its own version of the Westover family. What makes this memoire unique is Tara Westover’s ability to build a story of abuse that is infused with love. Humans are complex creatures. They can be both kind and cruel. It is possible to despise and adore at the same time. This memoire will be of encouragement to many people. My hope is that Dr. Westover finds healing through sharing her story. We all gain from her courage to speak out.

I read this in one sitting!I grew up in a dysfunctional, abusive family of gas lighters so I’m not at all surprised by her family’s response. If you want to see the family’s distorted and vindictive responses check out all the one star reviews.Also telling...they claim she got an excellent education at home. If you search for her brother Richard you will find this interesting tidbit in his school bio (written years before the book came out) “Westover said he is probably the only ISU masters-level chemist who had to start with a beginning math course at ISU.“ Why would that be?! Hmmm, could it be that the Westivers didn’t actually homeschool their kids and never taught them met at all, requiring their son to take an entry level class st college...? Ding ding ding!Bravo Tara for telling the truth.

I didn't set out to read this memoir at one sitting, ordering just the standard sample to be sent to my tablet...but after reading just that small sample, I immediately clicked on the "give me the whole chalupa button" so I could continue reading this absorbing & introspective memoir...the author never cuts herself any slack, just writing truthfully about how unprepared she was having endured the abuse from her family which had dominated her entire life before education brought her into adapting into the modern life the rest of us experience.Jarring at times when the reality of her experiences can overwhelm one when reading this memoir, but by never resorting to asking for mercy regarding her actions & life, you get the true sense of her being trapped by being raised in a mean spirited world that featured deprivation as its main commodity, reflecting into her coarsely made aspects of life. Between a domineering father, a beaten down mother and an abusive brother, she really had no chance of ending up in the life that she successfully fought for against the tides of family ties, religion, & society that had bound her into a life of servitude & misogyny. Her escape from it is almost anti-climatic in a matter of fact way, the abuse of everyday life for her was in itself the drama that holds the reader in suspense... Just as Mary Karr's "The Liar's Club" lets you see the inside of abuse young females sometimes are exposed to and have to take because of familial bonds and their lack of physical power. This alone leaves one wondering what happened afterwards. And like" The Liar's Club", it has the air of disbelief this couldn't actually be happening, or better yet, OMG, this actually happened! Its good to see someone make it thru this trap of abuse & misogyny, but at the same time, Ms. Westover lets you also see the potential traps that lie ahead as she escapes into a world she has no basis of experience in which to thrive...best maybe to be told in the future in another book with a different POV...for that matter, like Karr's "Cherry"or "Lit"...I will definitely look forward to see what Ms. Westover writes next, this book will be re-read several times in the future, each time I am sure I will find more aspects of being a male that I might be best to correct...or better yet, maybe to nurture. My wife and her daughter, my stepdaughter, say I am doing fine as a male head of household, but it takes memoirs like this to give me the insight & desire into making myself into a better person so I can be thought of in a positive manner and to be loved because I did the right things for the entire family; me, my wife, my stepdaughter & stepson...its thru the pain women like Ms Westover & Ms Karr have suffered & now write about, that one sees how much better any man can become just by trying. I would never want my extended family to think of me in the ways Ms. Westover writes about her male familial people, I would want for myself to be thought of as a good man who held up his end of the bargain of family. Its by understanding the faults of men like Ms. Westover's stepdad and brother held onto in their world that I can then find my way into just by being a better man to my family...read it and see if it works in this same manner for you...dj

An absolutely amazing story of triumph over a horrifying childhood. I am appalled by the author's brother, Shawn, who should be in a mental hospital or prison. From her account, it should come as no surprise if he one day kills someone. Her father's callous disregard for his children's safety and well being is unparalleled. Then there is the treachery of her mother.I applaud Tara for escaping the physical and psychological abuse she endured and for having the courage to become educated.

After reading just a couple chapters of Educated, my first thought was that it is similar to Glass Castle, a book I loved. Upon reading further, I realized there were some similarities, but Educated is actually quite different.I found this book so interesting that at times, it read like a novel. There were also a few times where I thought the book dragged and the author repeated herself.I'm glad Tara was able to see there was a whole other world out there than the one she was living. She seemed to recognize from an early age that most families didn't live like hers. As a young child, she really received very little teaching--very little other than how to help her dad with his scrapping business and how to help her mother as a midwife and and homeopathic specialist. It is clear she has innate intelligence, as she is able to teach herself what was needed to pass the ACT with a score high enough to be accepted to BYU. Upon attending BYU, it was clear she knew very little about how to live as a traditional American. She had never heard of the holocaust. She didn't know how to dress to attend lectures.I would have liked Tara to have included a little more information about her relationship with the men in her life outside of the family. The only real experience with men prior to college were with one of her employers and her repressive father and abusive brother. I think it would be interesting if she had described how these relationships affected those with the men she dated throughout her college experience, but most of this is glossed over.All in all though, this is an interesting and well-written story. I would recommend it for all fans of The Glass Castle, as well as those who are simply fascinated with stories of people who live non-traditional American lifestyles.