Sunday, April 12, 2020

Educated by Tara Westover

April's book club selection was Educated, by Tara Westover. It seems the Coronavirus has touched so many and in countless ways~ this month we found our little book club is no exception! So we put on our thinking caps and came up with a method to hold our meeting, just via the comfort and safety of our homes, over the phone lines, and through the mostly trusty World Wide Web. Hip hip hooray for the ability to still host the meeting, and "cheers!" to everyone who joined in the discussion~ we had a great turnout! Just a heads up, it's very possible we may be doing the same meeting format for May's book club rendezvous as well~ stay tuned!

In other news, Susan has collected all the book club ballots for this next year's reading list and will compile them soon into the appropriate timetable. They'll be sent out via e-mail and/or through the mail, as well as posted on the library's website~ let us know if we miss someone! In the meantime, May's book club selection is The Night Birds, by Thomas Maltman (available on hoopla!), and it has been decided that June's selection will be Little Bee, by Chris Cleave. Happy reading!

Here we go~

Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. She prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her "head-for-the-hills bag". In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father's junkyard. Her family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education and no one to intervene when one of Tara's older brothers became violent. When another brother got himself into college, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge University. Only then would she wonder if she'd traveled too far, if there was still a way home.

It's fair to say that our members found this book a heavy read, and thought it very similar to The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls and The Great Alone, by Kristin Hannah. The majority of the group found the rife mental illness and subsequent abuse in this book hard to read, and difficult for some to understand how it went on for so long undiscovered and unchecked, especially in the late 1980's~ with so many bystanders looking on. It was frustrating at times to find Tara conflicted about whether or not to reestablish her family ties or to forge ahead on her own and build a new life with a new normal, free from the haunts of her home life. The choice seems so clear, and easy, for those of us who've thankfully never been in her situation. We found it a testament to the unparalleled child/parent bond, a common theme we've uncovered as of late. All that aside, we almost unanimously agreed that we're glad we read the book and considered it extraordinary for Tara to not only have escaped her childhood circumstances, but also to have worked as hard and to have come as far as she did on her own steam with very little support, encouragement, help, or acknowledgment. The group agreed this book was very well written and easy to follow~ two separate members added that they really liked the very last line of the very last chapter of the book... you'll have to give it a look to find out what it is!


At the end of every book club discussion we ask three questions and track the average answers:
Would we recommend this to another book club for discussion?
"YES"
Would we recommend this to a friend to read?
"YES"
Rate the book 1-4 stars with 1 being the lowest rating:
  3.5 stars (a lot of 3 and 4 stars were awarded, with a couple 2's mixed in).

5 comments:

Betty Z said...

I have not seen the reading list for June of 2020 onward. I assume it's not complete or else I haven't looked in the right spot. One comment on the book Educated. I saw an interview of Tara on u tube and the interviewed, a doctor, asked why she chose to publish her book as a memoir and if she had considered fiction instead. She said she had thought of fiction but didn't think her story would be believeable. I think she's right. The injuries and healing in some of their mishaps seemed unbelieveabe, especially without seeking medical help. It makes me wonder about the effectivness of Tara's mother's herb mixtures.

amanda schaefer said...

hi betty! you haven't missed it, the new reading list hasn't been completed and posted just yet, but we're close~ stay tuned! just to be sure it wasn't missed at the zoom meeting, may's book club selection will remain "The Night Birds" by thomas maltman, and june's selection has been decided to be "Little Bee" by chris cleave.

i completely agree with your thoughts on parts of it being a touch unbelievable given their injuries, some of them severe. even though they healed from them, it's unimaginable to consider the needless pain and suffering they must have endured for extended periods of time. i'm a big fan and advocate for natural health and healing, though all the while understanding modern medicine and the like certainly have their place and use(s)... like where severe burns are concerned, for example. *wink*

i also thought the depth and breadth of her education was also unlikely. how does one go from one such extreme to the next... while mostly being self taught? from what resource or foundational method(s) did she pull from to get her from A to B?

good thoughts! thanks for adding to the conversation betty!

Betty Z said...

Hi Amanda....I too agree with using good nutrition, natural plants, exercise, sleep and all those things that keep our body healthy, but when it comes to pain, give me something now.

I do believe that some people are gifted with intelligence and a mind that can soar inspite of a formal education. Some people can learn to read without a traditional teacher and others can try very hard and their brains just can't connect the dots.

Thanks, too, Amanda for your concise review of the discussion. betty z

Unknown said...

Amanda, I'm always so impressed with your summaries--concise and well written. It looks as though the discussion included the topics I had in mind: similarity to those books we've read earlier, the seeming impossibility of Tara and two of her brothers escaping the fate of their upbringing through education, and the seemingly miraculous cures in the family.
I would have liked to discuss Tara's mother and her rise to independence in a culture where that seemed unlikely. I suppose her dad's burn injuries and the income she brought in overcame tradition. It's amazing to think she spent most of a year or so in the basement dealing with headaches. This is one of the most amazing, stories I've read--a testament to what a person can achieve in spite of difficulties or barriers.
Mary Fahnlander

amanda schaefer said...

well thank you mary for your kind words~ it's so nice to know we have a dedicated reader on the blog!

that's a good point about wanting to know more about Tara's mother, i don't think anyone else mentioned your sentiments. speaking only for myself, i believe i threw her mother in with the rest of the unbelievably neglectful, disassociated members of Tara's inner circle. i find that i naturally will hold mothers to a higher standard than fathers, or siblings, or grandparents where abuse and/or neglect is concerned. it must have something to do with the powerful maternal instinct that i, and certainly the vast majority of all other mothers, feel toward my own children. this is not to say that i think fathers, siblings and grandparents aren't close, connected, and bonded with their children, of course they are, and in some cases, they are bonded even more so than the mother... but, there's something about a mother standing aside and allowing the abuse/neglect to continue and/or escalate that gets me hotter under the collar than any other circumstance. it matters very little to me what her parameters are or what she may or may not fear the repercussions will be if she intervenes, or even what her own upbringing and experience may have been. pretty harsh, i'm aware. i acknowledge on the one hand, there's a good chance i'm out of my league to speak this way, having never had to experience this kind of thing. but on the other hand... it's a basic human (and sometimes animal) tendency for a mother to fiercely protect her children, even at the cost of her own life... i don't think my expectations are unrealistic.

all that aside, i agree it was a good read and am glad you enjoyed it! despite how heavy it was, it also left us with an inspiring ending... and that just never gets old. :)