Educated is Tara Westover’s gripping memoir about her unconventional upbringing and her journey toward education and independence. Explore a character analysis of Tara, plot summary, and important quotes. Westover’s lyrical prose is mesmerizing, as is her personal story, growing up in a family in which girls were supposed to aspire only to become wives—and in which coveting an education was considered sinful. Her journey will surprise and inspire men and women alike.” —Refinery29 “Riveting. Early life and education Westover was the youngest of seven children born in Clifton, Idaho (population 259) to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints survivalist parents. She has five older brothers and an older sister. Her parents were suspicious of doctors, hospitals, public schools, and the federal government.
This is Nicole English coming to you from Fort Hays State University for HPPR's Book-Bytes. This is a discussion of the book, Educated: A Memoir.
The book describes Tara Westover's memories growing up in a very conservative, strict, religious family in rural Idaho. Her memoir is an emotionally wrenching, yet inspiring story of her journey from an isolated, rural life to her attaining her PhD, and studying at Oxford.
For this segment, I would like to focus on the Westover's experiences in Graduate School. For me, Westover's struggles through Graduate School was another part of her education journey that spoke to me.
Westover describes the stress she experienced applying to college, her feelings of isolation, her lack of confidence due to her perceived shortcomings (due to her restrictive background), and ultimately the struggles of whether she was 'deserving' of higher education and the scholarships she earned.
Another toxic emotional issue was her chaotic household, and their demands upon her. Not only were her family members not supportive of her educational aspirations, they actually strongly disapproved of her pursuing higher education, and denigrated her efforts. Ultimately, she was faced with having to choose between the threat of family rejection and giving up her hopes of an academic career.
This inner conflict lead to an identity crisis and emotional breakdown. Westover had to rebuild her self-identity basically from scratch, without family approval or support. Coming from a large, rural, religious, and close-knit family, this was an extremely difficult thing for her to do. Parallels laptops & desktops driver download for windows 10.
Having come from a rural family fraught with its own history of domestic violence and abuse, Westover's memoir stirred up my own memories of coming to terms with feelings of 'un-deservedness' as I pursued my life-long goals of Graduate School and becoming an academic in my own right. It was this academic pursuit that allowed me to grapple with these feelings of inadequacy, and push through the experience to more confident, more centered self-esteem and identity.
Anyone who has had to come to terms with rebuilding their identity in the wake of an abusive family can relate to Westover's story.. Reading Westover's memoir seem (at times) to be a rugged exercise, but it is also a richly engaging, enlightening, and validating experience.
Again, this is Nicole English from Fort Hays State University wishing you happy BookBytes. Promethean driver download.
View the discussion thread.
I have never written a forward to a book review before!
LaRee Westover’s new book, Educating, is not a response to Tara’s book but is remotely the complete story. She doesn’t respond to any of Tara’s accusations except about her brother’s emotional and mental state.
This is a touching tribute from LaRee Westover’s husband, Val Westover.
I have long been impressed by LaRee’s generosity in her business practices! She has freely shared her herbal recipes in her herb book, including the famous Miracle Salve recipe, and gives the most rewards points I’ve seen from a natural health company. The prices are great too!
We value being able to provide excellent products for the lowest possible price, as a product that is meant to improve one’s health is of no value if the price is so high they can’t afford to buy it.
When I saw LaRee Westover at a health conference recently, I was thrilled to speak with her. We spoke about writing our memoirs which she had felt inspired to do several years previously to her daughter’s, Tara Westover, book being published. I was looking for health books to review so asked her if I could review hers. I needed to read it quickly once I knew it was finished since they were ready for publication! This was easy since the stories were so interesting and the language was engaging!
Val Westover Idaho Burned Face
“There are many themes in her narrative, but being different is okay stands out. “
Educating By Laree Westover
This was not a paid review. I did receive a free reviewer’s copy of the book for review purposes! I will not lie to you that I think this book will be a bestseller! It could be if it had the same people backing it that Tara Westover’s book had. But even an indie published book can do well if it is well written! I hope that you will choose to share Educating with your friends!