Book post
Educated: A Memoir
intimate, sincere, thought provoking, and also painful. The entire memoir stirred up a lot of emotions in me but
all of those feelings were worth it in the end.
The memoir begins with Tara reflecting on childhood. She grew up as a Mormon survivalist and lived in rural
all of those feelings were worth it in the end.
The memoir begins with Tara reflecting on childhood. She grew up as a Mormon survivalist and lived in rural
Idaho. Her dad, who didn’t believe in anything from the government, insisted that government officials were out
to get her and her family around the time Tara was a child. She notes in the memoir that her dad had a
breakdown because a family nearby had been shot to death for essentially not following government orders as
he described. He forced Tara and her siblings to pack “head-for-the-mountains” bags to prepare to hide for when
the government was going to “attack them”. Ultimately the Government never comes and years later Tara finds
out that what her dad was describing was actually Ruby Ridge. The majority of the memoir contains anecdotes
similar to this.
Later on in the memoir Tara describes her first day of class. Tara never stepped foot in a classroom until she was
to get her and her family around the time Tara was a child. She notes in the memoir that her dad had a
breakdown because a family nearby had been shot to death for essentially not following government orders as
he described. He forced Tara and her siblings to pack “head-for-the-mountains” bags to prepare to hide for when
the government was going to “attack them”. Ultimately the Government never comes and years later Tara finds
out that what her dad was describing was actually Ruby Ridge. The majority of the memoir contains anecdotes
similar to this.
Later on in the memoir Tara describes her first day of class. Tara never stepped foot in a classroom until she was
seventeen. Her father didn’t believe in education and her mother loosely taught her and her siblings. For the
most part, Tara spent almost every day of her childhood and adolescence working for her dad in the yard instead
of going to school. When she finally enters a classroom it is her first day of college at BYU. Despite having
very little education, Tara managed to pull off a decent ACT score due to her countless hours she spent hiding in
her basement teaching herself math and grammar. She notes that during her first day at BYU her professor was
discussing an event that occured during WWII that everyone seemed to know about but her. So she raised her
hand and asked him to explain what he was discussing. The professor paused, awkwardly laughed at her, and
asked if she was joking. Other students in the class looked visibly uncomfortable. The professor had been
lecturing on the Holocaust that day. Tara had never heard of it until she was seventeen.
most part, Tara spent almost every day of her childhood and adolescence working for her dad in the yard instead
of going to school. When she finally enters a classroom it is her first day of college at BYU. Despite having
very little education, Tara managed to pull off a decent ACT score due to her countless hours she spent hiding in
her basement teaching herself math and grammar. She notes that during her first day at BYU her professor was
discussing an event that occured during WWII that everyone seemed to know about but her. So she raised her
hand and asked him to explain what he was discussing. The professor paused, awkwardly laughed at her, and
asked if she was joking. Other students in the class looked visibly uncomfortable. The professor had been
lecturing on the Holocaust that day. Tara had never heard of it until she was seventeen.
Not only did Tara’s parents provide no support for her education, they also did not believe in health care. The
family got in a major car accident once that left Tara’s mom nearly blind and definitely concussed. Tara described
her mom’s eyes as racoon eyes and said that for a few months her mom would hide in the basement to be in the
dark. Her mom also lost some of her memory and would get her children mixed up. Despite obvious signs that
her mom desperately needed proper medical care, her mom and dad refused to go to the hospital. Instead of
receiving medical care, Tara’s mom would just give everyone homemade herbal remedies including herself. One
day Tara’s brother was severely burned head to toe and clearly needed to be airlifted to a trauma hospital. Tara
described his burns as so intense that you could see through to some of his bones. But once again, the family
refused to take him to the hospital. It’s a miracle no one died in her family during her childhood and adolescence.
family got in a major car accident once that left Tara’s mom nearly blind and definitely concussed. Tara described
her mom’s eyes as racoon eyes and said that for a few months her mom would hide in the basement to be in the
dark. Her mom also lost some of her memory and would get her children mixed up. Despite obvious signs that
her mom desperately needed proper medical care, her mom and dad refused to go to the hospital. Instead of
receiving medical care, Tara’s mom would just give everyone homemade herbal remedies including herself. One
day Tara’s brother was severely burned head to toe and clearly needed to be airlifted to a trauma hospital. Tara
described his burns as so intense that you could see through to some of his bones. But once again, the family
refused to take him to the hospital. It’s a miracle no one died in her family during her childhood and adolescence.
Unfortunately, Tara was also abused by one of her brothers. He would manipulate her and physically attack her.
Often times he would pull her by the hair and drag her to the toilet where he would force her head into it until
she nearly fainted. Other times he would call Tara a whore and slap her. Every time he would abuse her he would
always return to her room a few hours later and insist that he didn’t mean what he did. It led to Tara having
major issues with understanding what love is, especially since her parents denied everything her brother did to
her and accused her of being crazy.
she nearly fainted. Other times he would call Tara a whore and slap her. Every time he would abuse her he would
always return to her room a few hours later and insist that he didn’t mean what he did. It led to Tara having
major issues with understanding what love is, especially since her parents denied everything her brother did to
her and accused her of being crazy.
Luckily, Tara managed to curate an incredible life for herself despite all of the hardships she faced. After
graduating from BYU she made it to Cambridge and Harvard. Obama even included her book on his annual
summer reading list. She is a prime example of you can do anything you want, even if your parents don’t support
you in any capacity. It was truly a pleasure reading this memoir and I hope you will read it too.
summer reading list. She is a prime example of you can do anything you want, even if your parents don’t support
you in any capacity. It was truly a pleasure reading this memoir and I hope you will read it too.
This book sounds awesome, I am glad you enjoyed it so much. Education is so so important and it's really unfortunate when parents of all people are the ones trying to deprive their children of it. It's hard for people to change or get out of poverty if they aren't educated.
ReplyDeleteHi Olivia,
ReplyDeleteEducated sounds like an incredible book. Her story is incredibly moving and her character is inspiring. I wonder how many others that grew up in communities like she did have similar experiences.
-Allegra
Olivia,
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds like a must read for anyone looking for inspiration. After the smalls sample's you've provided, I can only imagine the other hardships Tara must've gone through. I hope that one day in the near future I'll be able to read her memoir.
-Ethan
Wow, that is such a crazy memoir. I don't know how someone could grow up in an environment like that but still come out determined to succeed. I truly enjoyed reading about this and I hope that I get the chance to read this novel.
ReplyDeleteHearing Tara’s story is very inspirational. The ability of a person to face so many hardships in life and still succeed in almost unbelievable. To go from not receiving a real education to ending up at Cambridge and Harvard is incredible. I definitely want to read this book.
ReplyDeleteThat book sounds intense. I have heard of Mormon survivalists before but hearing the accounts first hand is unbeleivable. Thank you for writing and I will definitely be reading up on this novel.
ReplyDeleteBest,
Dan