Tara Westover on "Educated: A Memoir" at the 2018 National Book Festival

Tara Westover discusses Educated: A Memoir with PBS Books host Rich Fahle at the 2018 National Book Festival.
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, 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 father forbade hospitals, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism. The 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.
Then, lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she'd traveled too far, if there was still a way home.
Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty and of the grief that comes with severing the closest of ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes and the will to change it.
Women authors, nonfiction, autobiography, biography, women, Idaho, Survivalism, home schooling, women college students, dysfunctional families, subculture, anecdotes, rural conditions, victims of family violence, TAYSHAS list, Library Reads, Texas Topaz Reading List

[@lauribailey5756]

Tara Westover is one of the strongest, bravest young women I know. She is an inspiration to all of us who wonder if it is indeed possible to overcome trauma and offer meaningful gifts to this world.

[@Amy-tl2xe]

Tara, you perhaps do not know this, but you are very, very smart AND very, very wise. I think you are an extraordinary person. Your views make total sense to me. I hope you will continue to teach us with more books about your life philosophy.

[@one4thebigguy]

Absolutely love your book Tara! You are such an inspiration to me. Thank you for sharing your life’s story.

[@rachelleanna3]

The interviewer understands her pain throughout the talk. Good on him.

[@Andy-ty2ni]

heartbreaking yet ultimately triumphant....i am reading it now...and so smart and capable...with a strong sense of morality...you rock Tara!!...keep writing!

[@tiffanysmith7419]

Really looking forward to reading this book. Enjoy what she has to say. Also, for PBS Books, great job on the audio in such a crowded room.

[@lorettaleonhardt1391]

Wonderful book - have told everyone to read it!

[@coachlaurita9321]

Fascinating!

[@tinas8787]

Regardless of the parents education and opinions they must want the children to be happy and to do whatever they are best at, . Children must be raised with respect, love and care. Religion is a set of rules that cannot be the limit in education and the well being of a child. North Koreans do not have any religion and the children are guided and encuraged to be their best . And they are happy and healthy.

[@fadiadid]

Your book is deep...Faiza the algerian living in barcelona

[@abdelazeezsobh6899]

Westover has somehow managed to not only capture his unsurpassed and exceptional upbringing but to make his current situation seem not so exceptional at all and resonate with many others. Educated: A Memoir Book By Tara Westover (PDF-Book-Summary-Review-Online Reading-Download): www.toevolution.com/file/view/805724/educated-a-memoir-book-by-tara-westover-pdf-book-summary-review-online-reading-download

[@blove142]

a testament to "unschooling"! If a girl can skip K-12, then go to harvard and cambridge, just what does that say about K-12?? Or about Harvard??? Get real academia!!

[@1TigerJo]

Excellent book, but I won't respect the opinions of bigots or racists or those okay with rape, or those who refuse to even have dialogue let alone if it's civil or not. But I get where you're coming from, we all have our own stories...

[@clarestucki5151]

Now you're rich and famous BECAUSE you grew up in a family of crazy people! Makes me feel 'deprived' for having grown up in a normal family!

[@marymcgeehan4060]

I was thinking the same thing; thinking I need to give my kids something to write about one day~!

[@junemaisel2520]

Mary Mcgeehan and Claire Stucki, It’s amazing that she achieved what she did IN SPITE of horrible circumstances! Did you even read the book? I did, and her experiences were harrowing. In my opinion, what you commented was sour grapes. She worked really hard to achieve what she did and wrote a beautiful book.

[@marymcgeehan4060]

Oh I loved the book! I was just saying I need to give my kids a more "colorful" childhood jokingly....@@junemaisel2520

[@RichardChappell1]

@@junemaisel2520 - It's amazing, until you realize maybe those circumstances aren't quite what she describes. As much as she denigrates her parents, there's no denying the fact that they prepared their children for advanced education quite well - their statistics are better than most other educational systems. Her supportive brother, Tyler, has described a much different attitude towards education than she shares, even describing how her father helped him prepared and work to win scholarships for his college education. You have to wonder if her very biased memoirs aren't somewhat self-serving.

[@vcetaditya]

Richard Chappell I have read the book. It was clear from the book that the father treated his sons differently than his daughters. It is very clear that he wanted his daughters to be at home, doing mid-wifery and he was proud of his son who will help him in construction business if he could become an engineer. So , why would you think that Tara’s experience should be the same as that of her brothers? It’s not Apple to Apple comparison.