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This memoir reminded me of J.D. Vance's book Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard, and The Glass Castle Families that are completely dysfunctional, and yet a child is able to rise above the abuse and dysfunction.
I loved the parts that discussed how Tara Westover educated herself, even though she had so little tools to do so ...more
I loved the parts that discussed how Tara Westover educated herself, even though she had so little tools to do so ...more
This book blew me away. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. Westover's memoir is amazing and I highly recommend it. What does it mean to be educated?
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I usually read books a little at a time, in small moments during the day and right before bed. Once I got partway through this one, I could not put it down. That said, I'm more than a tad skeptical that the depiction of her early education is factual. I've no doubt Ms. Westover is intelligent but her complete self-reliance on learning to read and perform high level math is almost laughable. Completely left out is how, being the young calf being raised for veal she is, she was able to find off ca
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This book is staying with me long after i have finished it. How one woman overcame isolation, her negative self-image as a result of family brainwashing, and her lack of education. Her family, led by survivalist parents who were well outside society and usual behaviour, did not support her when she was injured by her brother, kept her away from school and medical help, and continued to deny that the violence happened. Not only did she overcome, but educated herself enough to escape, and soar, so
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4.5 stars for the first 2/3, 3 stars for the last 1/3. Her childhood was certainly unusual and her father clearly delusional but you don't realize how sinister their family dynamics are going to be in the first few chapters.
Keeping her home from school turns into pushing her to work with dangerous equipment, then evolves into increasingly manipulative control games that her brother joins in on and, finally, escalates to physical and emotional abuse. Westover's slow unfolding of their domestic d ...more
Keeping her home from school turns into pushing her to work with dangerous equipment, then evolves into increasingly manipulative control games that her brother joins in on and, finally, escalates to physical and emotional abuse. Westover's slow unfolding of their domestic d ...more
An amazing read (thanks, Jason, for the tip)...intriguing, befuddling, sickening, engaging, captivating, unbelievable in so many ways in these days. I mean--there's stuff that you're...just...not...going...to...believe.
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This book is fascinating! It is both intriguing and heart-wrenching and reminds me of Glass Castle. Like Jeanette Wallis, she was allowed to do very dangerous things. He dad owned a junkyard and she’d work with very heavy equipment without safety precautions. I belong to the same church that her family attended, referred to in the book as “Mormonism”. The teachings she grew up with are a far cry from the actual doctrine, because her father took everything to the extreme and made up some things e
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Fabulous! My 16yo is reading it see how tough situations can still create success with determination
Jun 24, 2018
Brenda
marked it as to-read
Aug 08, 2018
Crystal
marked it as to-read
Jan 05, 2019
Jen
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Jan 15, 2019
grace
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Apr 28, 2019
Tammy Grimm
marked it as to-read
Sep 16, 2019
Nina ( picturetalk321 )
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really liked it
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Oct 17, 2019
Michelle
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Oct 24, 2019
Davida "Davi"
added it
Dec 01, 2019
Swapnil Ghan
marked it as to-read
