Educated

by Tara Westover

<b>[pg. 18 - 31 Summary] [Chapt. 2 The Midwife – Chapt. 3 Cream Shoes]</b> The story continues through the background of the protagonist, Tara Westover's parents, Faye and Gene. The Westover family was large, consisting of Tony, Shawn, Tyler, Luke, Audrey, Richard, and Tara. Tony was born in a hospital one year after his parents’ marriage when Gene was twenty-two. Tony and Shawn were the only two with birth certificates. Gene’s childhood was described as bursting with energy and laughter and consumed by running a farm. Faye, who worked as a waitress at a bowling alley, was attracted to Gene’s maturity, seriousness for his age, physical appearance, and independent mind. Tara later discovered Faye’s parents had opposed the engagement, explaining the detachment from the aunts, uncles, and cousins the kids experienced from their mother’s side. Faye’s cream shoes symbolize her choice to close the final chapter of her life with her blood family and open a new one with Gene. The children understood that the dissolution of their mother’s family (represented by the cream shoes) marked the beginning of their own. The two could not coexist. Tara subtly recounts decisions her father, Gene made in his late twenties, to early thirties, and early forties, leading to a radical point of understanding in her life. She starts to reveal how her father would prepare ahead to stay safe and how his methods would seem to heighten more-and-more over time. Fourteen years after an incident that triggered her father’s profound fears, Tara was able to better understand and accept mental health and her father’s actions while sitting in a university psychology classroom. Though her father’s estranged behavior became more apparent after age twenty-five, and his bipolar-like symptoms seemed relevant, she ultimately found peace without needing an exact diagnosis. She began to heal and acknowledge her power to break the cycle. She recognized how paranoia and fundamentalism had caved up her life, taking from her the people she cared about, leaving only degrees and certificates. She could now see what she described as a tape playing in a continuous loop. <b>[Note]</b> This book does seem to jump between different time periods at times, but the flow continues to capture my interest and deepen my understanding of what is being addressed. Each chapter leaves me with questions and a continued urge to read further.

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[pg 1 - 18 Summary] [PART 1] [Chapt. 1 Choose Good - Chapt. 2 The Midwife] True story about a seven-year-old protagonist, Tara Westover, who describes the norms of generational life in a Mormon family living in a remote mountain area of rural Idaho called Buck's Peak. She is unfamiliar with the public school system, social security numbers, or any form of government processes. Each chapter focuses on specific aspects of her upbringing that quickly captured my curiosity regarding the cultural norms of such a lifestyle and the generational effects that carry.

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[pg. 18 - 31 Summary] [Chapt. 2 The Midwife – Chapt. 3 Cream Shoes] The story continues through the background of the protagonist, Tara Westover's parents, Faye and Gene. The Westover family was large, consisting of Tony, Shawn, Tyler, Luke, Audrey, Richard, and Tara. Tony was born in a hospital one year after his parents’ marriage when Gene was twenty-two. Tony and Shawn were the only two with birth certificates. Gene’s childhood was described as bursting with energy and laughter, and consumed by running a farm. Faye, who worked as a waitress at a bowling alley, was attracted to Gene’s maturity, seriousness for his age, physical appearance, and independent mind. Tara later discovered Faye’s parents had opposed the engagement, explaining the detachment from the aunts, uncles, and cousins the kids experienced from their mother’s side. Faye’s cream shoes symbolize her choice to close the final chapter of her life with her blood family and open a new one with Gene. The children came to understand that the dissolution of their mother’s family (represented by the cream shoes) marked the beginning of their own. The two could not coexist. Tara subtly recounts decisions her father, Gene made in his late twenties, to early thirties, and early forties, which later lead to a radical point of understanding in her life. She starts to reveal how her father would prepare ahead to stay safe and how his methods would seem to heighten more-and-more over time. Fourteen years after an incident that triggered her father’s profound fears, Tara was able to better understand and accept mental health and her father’s actions while sitting in a university psychology classroom. Though her father’s estranged behavior became more apparent after age twenty-five, and his bipolar-like symptoms seemed relevant, she ultimately found peace without needing an exact diagnosis. She began to heal and acknowledge her power to break the cycle. She recognized how paranoia and fundamentalism had caved up her life, taking from her the people she cared about, leaving only degrees and certificates. She could now see what she described as a tape playing in a continuous loop. [Note] This book does seem to jump between different time periods at times, but the flow continues to capture my interest and deepen my understanding of what is being addressed. Each chapter leaves me with questions and a continued urge to read further.

[pg. 31 - 45 Summary] [Chapt. 4 Apache Women] In the section titled "Apache Women," the author tells a story that shifts between several different time frames to illustrate her point. She describes the circumstances and decisions leading up to Tyler crashing the family car at age 16, as well as the impact it left behind. The family's emotional wounds are detailed, but the mental toll it took on Tyler seems the most profound. Tara explains that she never blamed Tyler, or anyone in the family, for the wreck. To convey her feelings about the event now, Tara shares a story of destiny that her grandmother told her when she was young—a tale about Apache women. “Of all the decisions that go into making a life—the choices people make, together and on their own, that combine to produce any single event,” she writes. “Grains of sand, incalculable, pressing into sediment, then rock.” Her grandmother shared this story while they were hunting for pieces of black rock, obsidian, or “Apache tears.”

[pg. 45 - 54 Summary] [Chapt. 5 Honest Dirt] This chapter explores the differences in the decades, challenges, relationships, and mannerisms among the siblings still residing in the Westover home. Faye focused on providing her children with a formal education and addressing Tyler’s speech impediment and Luke’s learning disability. Gene, however, prioritized solely practical skills over everything else, primarily math and reading. Tyler becomes the central figure in this chapter due to his choice to pursue a formal education in the end. Because of his speech impediment, Tyler’s tongue was described as heavy and quiet, and Tara mentions that they seldom spoke. Ultimately, Tyler was the only sibling to “abandon the mountain to join the illuminati” — a term used to describe college. Tyler abandons the practical trade, such as truck driving, welding, or scrap work, his father had prioritized. The phrase “Honest Dirt” refers to the term Gene used to reference his blackened fingernails after a long day’s work, when seen by Tara. The chapter concludes when Tara, at 10 years old, watches Tyler leave home to attend college. She notices his room emptied of CDs and sees him washing his car, preparing to leave. They hug, and Tyler tells her he’ll miss her before driving down the hill to the highway. Tara watches until the dust settles, closing the chapter by noting she would not see him again for five years, until she was 15. This was described as a critical moment and the chapter closes on that.