Book Review — Educated by Tara Westover (2018)
Whenever I heard the word “educated” what I can think is, someone who has been learning for all his/her life since childhood, or someone educated can get a better future rather than those who don’t, or educated means being independent.
Well, my opinion about “educated” is not far from Tara’s life experience.
Tara lives in a small village near a mountain with her family in Idaho. Her father does not trust to government, hospital, and public school. Thus, Tara and her siblings are mostly do not go to public school instead they are home-schooling, they don’t get a birth certificate until 9/10 years old, and they don’t go to the hospital even if badly injured.
I was shocked while reading the synopsis, how can people possibly live that way in this modern era?
The family is lead by a father, thus the family members shall hold the same value as the leader. As a leader of the family, the regime of truth that has been planted by Tara’s father is God. Her father is a devout Mormon, he has an idea that the only one who can help you from anything is God. The values and norms that do not come from God are dangerous and evil.
Growing up with a father who holds such an extreme value, young Tara feels that other people who trust the government and go to school/go to the hospital when they’re sick is such a weird and stupid thing to do. Tara perceives that the idea hold by her family is the most right thing to do.
As I get deeper into the book, I found out that the father is not the only one who is problematic in the family. Tara’s Mom and her older brother (Shane) also seem to have psychological issues. Tara mentioned that her Mom will follow what her Father believed, no matter what. Even if it is wrong, she still chooses to agree and obey him. In another word, the mom is easily manipulated.
Moreover, Shane is an abusive and manipulative person. He likes to manipulate people and make them trust what he said. Tara was manipulated and violated by her brother, but none in the family helped ;(
As time goes by, Tara makes interactions with other people and her perception gradually changes. She feels that there might be another world than this small village and her father’s rigid values. There must be a better world and different perspectives. Furthermore, she sees her 2 older brothers who continue their studies in college, and they seem to have a better life. From her brother, Tara can see that by having an education she may gain other perspectives and a better life.
Then, Tara tried to enter college and she made it. This is just the beginning of her struggle, during her freshman year, Tara faces a hard transition of lifestyle being in formal education, smart classmates, how to dress, how to prepare for a final test, and so on.
Entering the formal class at 18 years old is somehow late. Tara has to study harder than her friends, she has to catch up on things that she hasn’t learn at home. She didn’t know what Holocaust is, what Civil Rights Movement is, and she insisted that Europe is a country.
However, Tara manages to be a good student, get a scholarship, and continue her study in the UK. This opportunity has opened her perspective more about the world. Finally, she can be friends with other people from around the world who have completely different religions, cultures, languages, etc. At the end of the day, Tara can accept that there is no ultimate truth in this world, that we have to understand other people’s perspectives and appreciate others.
The most heart-breaking part is Tara has to be separated from her own family because of the different ideas that they hold. I think it’s the best thing she can do, for the sake of her mental health.
From this book, we can learn that “Don’t see things in one perspective only, we have to be able to see things in multiple perspectives and decide what is best based on our understanding”.
Lastly, it is very important not to let other people control our idea, we have to be independent in making our own decision, and remember that we are the best decision-maker for ourselves.
