Educated by Tara Westover BCD 270 Wes

Very few memoirs are written about boring lives!  It is unbelievable what some people go through as children and yet grow up to be so successful.  Tara Westover has a PhD from Cambridge and yet the first time she entered into a classroom she was 17.  And it isn't that she had a mother who had been homeschooling her with a great curriculum.

Tara and her family lived in Idaho up in the mountains.  Her parents are survivalists.  So everyone in the family has a bag packed to grab on the way out the door if they have to leave quickly.  Tara's dad wanted his children to know that they couldn't trust the government, the educators or even the doctors.  So they were very isolated.  Her mom begins working with herbs and has all sorts of salves and 'medicines' to cure whatever ails you.  She also began working as a midwife.

Tara's life was hard, painful and isolated.  She spent days doing hard, physical work in her father's junkyard.  Besides the many injuries she suffered there, she was also physically abused by her older brothers.

There were many parts of the book that were hard to read (well actually listening) but I was in awe of the story and it has stayed with me.  The family loyalty is very hard to understand.   A great book if you want to broaden your horizons and find out about another 'culture' that is part of our country.

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