"Educated," by Tara Westover

I am embarrassed to admit the reason that I did not read Tara Westover’s memoir, “Educated” (Random House, 2018), which has been a huge critical and popular success, sooner. The reason: I heard an extensive interview of the author by Terry Gross on Fresh Air, and I felt that I had already heard the whole story. I often hear authors interviewed, and don’t have this response, so I don’t know what it was about this particular interview that made me feel that way. OK, there was another reason I didn't read this memoir earlier: I really didn’t feel like reading about a religious fanatic/survivalist, especially one who dragged his whole family into his fanaticism, as Westover’s father did. I don’t know what changed my mind; it was probably the recommendations from several good friends whose judgment I trust. Now that I have read it, I am very glad that I did. It is an absolutely fascinating and unusual story, giving readers insight into a world we rarely read about. Westover and her six siblings grew up very isolated in the mountains of Idaho, working hard for their parents, not attending school, not seeing doctors even for severe injuries, cut off from most other people, and always preparing for the worst. Somehow, despite much hardship and resistance, she (like two of her older brothers) almost miraculously made her way to college, and then to graduate school at Harvard and Cambridge. She did this with pure grit and determination. Along the way, she mostly felt like an outsider, as there was so much she did not know about “normal” American life. Gradually she learned more, made friends, had romances. But the cost was that her parents and some of her siblings cut off relationships and communication with her. Fortunately, three of her siblings did not do so. Still, it was a huge sacrifice for this young woman, and she struggled and suffered greatly as she came to terms with the situation. Westover is a compelling teller of her own story. Despite everything that happened with her family (including a disturbed and violent brother), she tells her story with remarkable restraint; this is not a “tell-all” in the sense of payback, nor a rant, but rather a genuine attempt to be fair, to understand, and to acknowledge that she still loves her family but needed very badly to leave and build a better, saner, more fulfilling life for herself. The story is psychologically and sociologically of great interest, as well as being well-written in an almost novelistic style.