Educated

I've had Educated by Tara Westover on my to-read list for forever, and this time when I got it from the library, I actually read it. It's a memoir about a woman who was raised by survivalist parents in Idaho, living a life without medicine, doctor's visits, and any kind of real education. As a teenager, she decides to leave and attend college and begins to realize that there is a new kind of life out there.

This was a fascinating book and incredibly engaging. (It was quite long, but I finished it in just a couple days.) I could not believe the kind of experiences she had as a child and the crazy views her parents had on certain things. (For example, several times, people in the family got seriously injured, and they did not go to the doctor and get the help they really should have gotten.) As a sidenote, Tara was raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is my religion too, but our life experiences do not match AT ALL. Her parents had a lot of beliefs that are outside the normal LDS religion, and I think Tara does a good job observing that the things she experienced are not representative of a religion but rather her family's experience. Anyway, this was a really interesting and empowering read.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)