Yes, parts were difficult, but I”m so glad I read to the end. That woman’s life was a triumph of her spirit and intelligence. I like books about people with grit.
It wasn’t an easy read but I found it moving and well told. It isn’t for everyone…one friend struggled with it because it hit too close to home for her.
I found it compelling and quick to read. We all are different. I struggled with The Man Named Ove, and really didn’t care for it much, though so many did.
There are aspects of the book that are disturbing and at times I came close to flinging the book across the room because it was so emotionally draining. To have to live in a family like Tara’s… to try and get along withi the only family she had, that she depended on them for everything, left me frustrated. “Cant you see how they’re manipulating and holding you back? Can’t you see how wrong what they are? Don’t you realize you’re being abused?” went through my mind a number of times. But that was her life, the only one she knew at the time. Isolated, under the thumb of an extremist patriarch and manipulative brother and a compliant unresponsive mother… where else could she turn, but to books? It’s an amazing story. Stick with it.
I thought it was really good. Try to keep reading, I think it’ll be worth while. This is my review. This is the true life-story of Tara Westover, raised by parents who are staunch believers of the Mormon faith and have taken their faith many steps beyond its intended purpose, and used it as an excuse to reign holy hell over their family. Tara and her six siblings are raised believing that governments, medical institutions, and non-believers are out to ruin and possibly, hurt the family, and it is of the utmost importance that they avoid these institutions and people at all cost. And, indeed, Tara and her siblings are, for a time, home schooled (if you call homeschooling having some books on a shelf in the basement and having the kids read the books on their own every so often) and avoid visiting doctors, even when they are in desperate need of medical attention (which seems to be much too often). Tara lives a life of deprivation and great physical abuse and neglect but pulls herself out of that hell to come out of the other side as a well-educated and successful woman. Through the use of her journal entries and her memories she tells how being a part of an institution didn’t just teach her how to multiply fractions or write a good college essay or even to inoculate her as an adult, but gave her the tools to understand her family and ultimately herself.
Westover begins this book by saying that “This story is not about Mormonism. Neither is it about any other form of religious belief…”, but I think that it sure is about God. I am a staunch believer in making things happen in life and working hard for the things we want (yes, luck and timing have a lot to do with it). But the thing that I take away from this really interesting, well-written account of Westover’s life is that some members of this family, if not all, should have died many times over, from the stories of abuse and blatant neglect! Despite the abuse, rage and miseducation the children all suffered at home, Westover and some of her siblings end up attending college and some actually become close friends. There are some things we can control, but this is the work of miracles! This story of abuse, neglect and horror could have gone in so many directions. But, Westover chooses to focus on the many positives in life. She had no control over how her parents parented or whether the world would be kind to her, she could only control what she could control. And she did. And she succeeded. This is a great read!
I’m reading it right now and enjoying it. I actually stopped this evening and looked up a couple of interviews with the author (there are a bunch on YouTube), and somehow that made the reading more interesting.
I didn’t finish it, but I thought it was because I read it too closely to wear the crawdads sing. And they were very similar although the setting was very very different. I don’t know I just wasn’t getting the Preppers vibe. They all could and did leave where as the Swamp Girl really couldn’t she had nowhere to go.
It’s a tough and important story. If you can’t finish this one I would ask you why – many people have stories that are not comfortable. Listening will help us all be better people.
It’s not that it’s affecting me. I don’t like any of the characters. Even Tara is hard for me to feel connected. I am just not enjoying it. Life is too short. And way too many great books out there that I will enjoy
Exactly! People use books to escape but not to confront. I felt like this after reading Manic Kingdom. I couldn’t put the book down and it made me uncomfortable, because it was SO honest and provided such a raw glimpse of what it’s like to lose your mind and go crazy. I had to remind myself that this book was making me feel something so powerful– it wasn’t a soft/cushy feeling, but it was so powerful.
I haven’t read it, but I have read reviews of it because I’m trying to decided if I want to or not. The more negative reviews say the reader had a hard time believing many of the events in the book actually happened the way she describes them. Did you have that feeling at any point?
I think it was cathartic for Tara to write, but it was difficult for me to read. I could only read it in chunks because it was so disturbing. 50 pages from the end I set it aside unsure if I could finish it. I did finish it, but I cannot say I’m glad I read it.
This book isn’t a soft/cushy book. It’s not a book that makes you escape. Readers often like books that make them escape their own realities and not confront the darkest/rawest moments of humanity and our world. Being uncomfortable means you ARE relating in my opinion, but maybe just don’t want to confront, aren’t ready to confront or just don’t like to read stories like this. But feeling something powerful should not go ignored. I felt like this after reading Manic Kingdom by Dr. Erin Stair. I felt bewildered, overwhelmed, uncomfortable… I almost gave it a bad review, but then I was like, wait a minute. I haven’t felt an emotion this powerful in a while. What’s going on? I think, in a lot of cases, our response to books depends on what our motive to read is from the get-go. 😉
I truly enjoyed it. I related to her experience as I was raised in a home where my father expressed himself as “a sovereign citizen”. Stopped paying taxes when I was a teen. Gave up his drivers license. Stopped voting.
He lost two homes to the IRS. I had to talk to IRS agents on the front lawn as a teen. I affected my education as well. Zero support. Brother was the golden child.
It’s a very stressful destabilizing environment to grow up in. I am currently no contact with my father. I found the book to be fascinating and reassuring.
@Carla I was really disturbed by this book. Having s pop ent 42 years in public education, 10 of them as a high school counselor, this book triggered a PTSD-like reaction. My husband asked me if this book was a value added read for me. It wasn’t. I like books that challenge me to think. This book made me think about the trauma children experience at the hands of those who should protect them. I saw enough of that first hand.
Stopped after 50 pages Did not engage me at all.
I so agree. None of the characters are resonating with me!
That story really resonated with me and I blew through it in a day or two. I couldn’t put it down but I could really relate to the story.
Maybe that’s the difference. I’m sorry I wasted the money.
@Carla go drop it in the library friends of books sale area. Someone will snatch it up. I bet you could also sell it used on Amazon
@Lisa good idea!
Take it a bit at a time. Several times I had to step away and compose myself. This book was devastating and almost broke me-but I’m glad I read it.
Yup
No thanks, not for me.
Yes, parts were difficult, but I”m so glad I read to the end. That woman’s life was a triumph of her spirit and intelligence. I like books about people with grit.
Frankly I was disappointed in the book.
I loved it from the first paragraph.
So interesting. I guess that’s why they have different flavors of ice cream too !
@Carla So true! And with so many wonderful books, we all find something to love.
I really struggled and finally gave up. I was really surprized sinve I usually like this type of book and loved Hillbilly Elegy
Me too
I didn’t really like Hillbilly Elegy or Educated. Read them both but did not love.
@Stephanie full disclosure – I listened to the author read Hillbilly Elegy. I think I would try Educated again if I could hear the author read it.
@Joey that might be better. I had empathy for her but I was just not gripped. I loved Glass Castle & Liars Club.
@Stephanie I just ordered Educated on CD…we will see if I like it better. Some things really are better in audio (and yes, I’m a librarian).
Report back. I listened to audio books during my commute before I retired & enjoyed some quite a bit. Now I prefer a book but I am always open.
@Stephanie I do both. I often listen to books I suspect I wouldn’t read. Hawkins brief outline of time and young adult
I could not put it down.
Same!
Mesmerizing
I did at first and then bam it hooked me. Loved it.
Loved it.
It wasn’t an easy read but I found it moving and well told. It isn’t for everyone…one friend struggled with it because it hit too close to home for her.
It’s a rough book. It’s up to you!
Just finished it. It was a hard read, didn’t feel like I was enjoying it. But I find myself thinking a lot about it since finishing it.
Interesting
I flew through it
I agree, Michelle. I saw so many mental health issues with the parents and some of the siblings. Just amazing she accomplished what she did.
I found it compelling and quick to read. We all are different. I struggled with The Man Named Ove, and really didn’t care for it much, though so many did.
I couldn’t read that one either. And I truly tried
I couldn’t put it down.
There are aspects of the book that are disturbing and at times I came close to flinging the book across the room because it was so emotionally draining. To have to live in a family like Tara’s… to try and get along withi the only family she had, that she depended on them for everything, left me frustrated. “Cant you see how they’re manipulating and holding you back? Can’t you see how wrong what they are? Don’t you realize you’re being abused?” went through my mind a number of times. But that was her life, the only one she knew at the time. Isolated, under the thumb of an extremist patriarch and manipulative brother and a compliant unresponsive mother… where else could she turn, but to books? It’s an amazing story. Stick with it.
I loved it … couldn’t put it down
I loved it!
I’m going to try reading it.
No, it was a wonderful book!
I couldn’t stop reading it…just so engaged me in her story & her processing,,,,excellent.
I struggled through it.
I loved it! You never know what folks go through.
Emotionally difficult to read, but I loved it.
I. Am listening right now on audio and is okay
I thought it was a very good story. I read it straight through, over a week.
I thought it was fascinating and read like fiction.
Me too.
I listened to it and liked it a lot
I listened to it in the car and had to take a few extra drives just to listen. It lead me to a deeper understanding of radicalism in it’s many forms.
I loved it.
I loved it
I thought it was really good. Try to keep reading, I think it’ll be worth while. This is my review.
This is the true life-story of Tara Westover, raised by parents who are staunch believers of the Mormon faith and have taken their faith many steps beyond its intended purpose, and used it as an excuse to reign holy hell over their family. Tara and her six siblings are raised believing that governments, medical institutions, and non-believers are out to ruin and possibly, hurt the family, and it is of the utmost importance that they avoid these institutions and people at all cost. And, indeed, Tara and her siblings are, for a time, home schooled (if you call homeschooling having some books on a shelf in the basement and having the kids read the books on their own every so often) and avoid visiting doctors, even when they are in desperate need of medical attention (which seems to be much too often). Tara lives a life of deprivation and great physical abuse and neglect but pulls herself out of that hell to come out of the other side as a well-educated and successful woman. Through the use of her journal entries and her memories she tells how being a part of an institution didn’t just teach her how to multiply fractions or write a good college essay or even to inoculate her as an adult, but gave her the tools to understand her family and ultimately herself.
Westover begins this book by saying that “This story is not about Mormonism. Neither is it about any other form of religious belief…”, but I think that it sure is about God. I am a staunch believer in making things happen in life and working hard for the things we want (yes, luck and timing have a lot to do with it). But the thing that I take away from this really interesting, well-written account of Westover’s life is that some members of this family, if not all, should have died many times over, from the stories of abuse and blatant neglect! Despite the abuse, rage and miseducation the children all suffered at home, Westover and some of her siblings end up attending college and some actually become close friends. There are some things we can control, but this is the work of miracles! This story of abuse, neglect and horror could have gone in so many directions. But, Westover chooses to focus on the many positives in life. She had no control over how her parents parented or whether the world would be kind to her, she could only control what she could control. And she did. And she succeeded. This is a great read!
I raced through it. Wondering if it’s the content or the writing that is slowing you down? There certainly is a lot of food for thought there.
I got through it quickly too. Fascinating to me.
Our bookclub is reading it soon. I’m looking forward to it. But I heard it’s a tough read.
Good luck??♀️
I could only handle it in chunks. It wasn’t a book I couldn’t put down….the subject matter got to be just too much at times.
@Jeanie yes.
I really liked it;)
I’ve had the audiobook in hold with Libby for about 10 weeks. Still several weeks to go. It better be good!
It didn’t work for me.
I loved it, but not every book is for every person.
Loved it, but grew up as a JW so I could TOTALLY relate.
DNF I was so disappointed, something like 25th on waitlist at library
I thought it was good!
@Michelle, have you cracked the cover of this one?
No I havent
Keep pushing! You won’t regret it!
Omg – I loved it!!!
I didn’t struggle at all. I was enthralled the whole time I was reading it.
@Leslie Agreed. I was sucked right into it.
I had the audio book on that one. I didn’t get thru as much as I would have hoped, even with someone reading for me! LOL Not totally a ‘win’ for me.
I’m reading it right now and enjoying it. I actually stopped this evening and looked up a couple of interviews with the author (there are a bunch on YouTube), and somehow that made the reading more interesting.
I didn’t finish it, but I thought it was because I read it too closely to wear the crawdads sing. And they were very similar although the setting was very very different. I don’t know I just wasn’t getting the Preppers vibe. They all could and did leave where as the Swamp Girl really couldn’t she had nowhere to go.
Even kind of reminded me of The Glass Castle a little bit
Listened to it… loved it
I loved it. One of my favorite books of 2018.
Just finished it! I LOVED it!!❤️
It was good. Not excellent. Just good.
I almost gave up several times but finished…not one likable character.
Listened to it and loved it
I’m really enjoying it!
I enjoyed it. in the middle it felt like a “my brother Shawn and I” kinda story, but it gets better.
I listened to it…there were a few moments I needed to turn the volume down, but overall – I liked it.
LOVED this book. What a brave soul.
Just finished it last week and though it didn’t grab me immediately, I’m really glad I read it.
Listening to the audible version now and it’s good! Definitely some difficult moments but mostly a great listen
It’s a tough and important story. If you can’t finish this one I would ask you why – many people have stories that are not comfortable. Listening will help us all be better people.
It’s not that it’s affecting me. I don’t like any of the characters. Even Tara is hard for me to feel connected. I am just not enjoying it. Life is too short. And way too many great books out there that I will enjoy
Exactly! People use books to escape but not to confront. I felt like this after reading Manic Kingdom. I couldn’t put the book down and it made me uncomfortable, because it was SO honest and provided such a raw glimpse of what it’s like to lose your mind and go crazy. I had to remind myself that this book was making me feel something so powerful– it wasn’t a soft/cushy feeling, but it was so powerful.
I haven’t read it, but I have read reviews of it because I’m trying to decided if I want to or not. The more negative reviews say the reader had a hard time believing many of the events in the book actually happened the way she describes them. Did you have that feeling at any point?
Got about 1/3 way through — testing it now and will pick it back up in a few days?
I think it was cathartic for Tara to write, but it was difficult for me to read. I could only read it in chunks because it was so disturbing. 50 pages from the end I set it aside unsure if I could finish it. I did finish it, but I cannot say I’m glad I read it.
Quit it. Not worth dying for.
I LOVED it!!!!
This book isn’t a soft/cushy book. It’s not a book that makes you escape. Readers often like books that make them escape their own realities and not confront the darkest/rawest moments of humanity and our world. Being uncomfortable means you ARE relating in my opinion, but maybe just don’t want to confront, aren’t ready to confront or just don’t like to read stories like this. But feeling something powerful should not go ignored. I felt like this after reading Manic Kingdom by Dr. Erin Stair. I felt bewildered, overwhelmed, uncomfortable… I almost gave it a bad review, but then I was like, wait a minute. I haven’t felt an emotion this powerful in a while. What’s going on? I think, in a lot of cases, our response to books depends on what our motive to read is from the get-go. 😉
I’m surprised to hear some struggle with it. I romped through it. Perception I guess.
Agree, am not reading anymore books about bad parents and bad childhoods. Not enjoyable, not what I want to read.
I truly enjoyed it. I related to her experience as I was raised in a home where my father expressed himself as “a sovereign citizen”. Stopped paying taxes when I was a teen. Gave up his drivers license. Stopped voting.
He lost two homes to the IRS. I had to talk to IRS agents on the front lawn as a teen. I affected my education as well. Zero support. Brother was the golden child.
It’s a very stressful destabilizing environment to grow up in. I am currently no contact with my father. I found the book to be fascinating and reassuring.
@Bethany you are a survivor EDUCATED is your story, be proud.
I’m sorry you had to go thru that as a child. It seems like the people who loved this book can relate in some fashion.
Loved it.
You may not be in the right space at the moment to read this book at the moment. Its takes energy so put it aside until you are ready for a challenge.
Yeah since I paid for it…I’ll give it another chance…someday Just not today ?
I read it and think it is overrated.
Loved the book
Loved it! Couldn’t put it down. The beginning was tough but see it through.
Loved it. No struggle at all.
Best book I have read in ages-loved it!
Just finished…slow in the beginning and gets better as you keep going. Don’t quit.
Have to start it soon for Book Club. Oh dear.
@Molly loved it…couldn’t stop reading…
@Carol , glad to know. Thank you!
I listened to it and found it riveting
Yeah…I didn’t finish it.
I may go back to it at some point…but then again what is the point. Life is short. Read what you love!
@Carla I was really disturbed by this book. Having s pop ent 42 years in public education, 10 of them as a high school counselor, this book triggered a PTSD-like reaction. My husband asked me if this book was a value added read for me. It wasn’t. I like books that challenge me to think. This book made me think about the trauma children experience at the hands of those who should protect them. I saw enough of that first hand.
Never struggle through a book. Life is too short. I loved it, but it’s fine by me if you don’t!
I am listening to the audio, and other than the disturbing parts, I am really enjoying it…..but boy, some parts really make me angry!
It was such a good book; but I too had a hard time getting through it. I don’t really know why, but it took me more than a month to complete.