Tara Westover gives us a glimpse of a remote America. Growing up in Idaho hill country, Tara’s overzealous and religious father represents the fanatical side of the Mormon faith. Despite Tara’s childhood filled with shocking near death tales as she is recruited to work for her father and brother in the metal salvage business, she makes her escape to become Educated. Never having a formal grade or high school education, Tara takes the ACT college entrance exam, scores well and is accepted into BYU. There, she has to learn to be a student for the first time in her life. She goes on to be accepted into Graduate School at Cambridge on a Gates Scholarship.
Tara examines life through her own experiences with emotion but stoicism. Tara and I are the same age and I couldn’t help but place her at the same time I was experiencing my traditional public school education.
This story is about a young woman persevering and abandoning her family to become her better self. This memoir exposes how Americans can live off the grid and the price they and their children pay for isolation.
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