Tara Westover
Educated: A Memoir
Idaho, USA : Random House, 2018. 334 pages
ISBN : 0399590501

Review

Educated tells the story of a woman, Tara Westover who was born into a Mormon family with fundamental beliefs which got worse as she grew older. Her parents do not believe in sending children to school, had no birth certificate of their children and were anti-doctors, anti vaccines and anti other establishments. Because of her father’s bipolar syndrome and paranoia, he was convinced the world would end at the stroke of the millennium. At 17, Tara decided to get an education as a means of escaping her abusive sibling and difficult life. She started to learn algebra, calculus and other entry requirements to get into a university from home. She struggled initially at Brigham Young University but later was awarded with a Gates Cambridge Scholarship to pursue a PhD at Cambridge University.

This is an inspiring memoir of how education can change one’s life and future but it requires hard work, resilience and persistency.