Date: 15 July 2018
Location: Jay and Gina
A warm summer afternoon and the Bookers gathered once again to discuss our book of the month, which this month was the memoir Educated by Tara Westover. Most of the Bookers had read and ‘enjoyed’ the book, although ‘enjoyed’ is probably not the best adjective to use since many parts of this book were troubling and difficult to read.
Westover is a gifted writer with some beautiful passages describing her beloved Buck’s Peak and the Indian Princess who comes and goes with the seasons. She also is eloquent in her introspective musings, as she begins to establish her own personality and self-worth in the face of tremendous obstacles. The book is entitled Educated but she could just as easily have called it Survival. While her memoir contains elements of common literary themes: coming of age, family, religion, etc., the main theme was that of over-coming adversity and, more specifically, her physical, emotional, and mental survival.
Westover was raised in a fundamentalist Morman family in Utah, which was further isolated by a bipolar and possibly schizophrenic father with strong anti-government, survivalist beliefs. The youngest of seven children, she had no birth certificate until she was nine, was not allowed to attend school, and never saw a doctor. Moreover, her patriarchal father seemed totally unaware of the dangers he often put his children in – working with heavy machinery and large scrap metal processing and building projects. When someone would express their concern or fear, his response was that the angels will look out for the children.
Her mother did not seem to have quite the same hard-core fundamentalism as her father, but she became an experienced midwife and expanded her herbal knowledge into a major business enterprise. She also professed to have potent healing powers, diagnosing and curing ailments with simple laying on of hands and applying her salves and ointments. While a couple of Tara’s older brothers escaped from the family, most of her siblings continued to work and live in this repressive and stultifying environment.
Other than Westover’s parents, who of course were ultimately responsible for this dystopian family, the major villain of the story was her brother Shawn. At times, Shawn showed love and affection for Tara, but, as she began to explore life outside the family, Shawn became increasingly abusive. And he was not just aggressive to Tara but also to her sister, to his girl friends and then to his wife and child.
Each time she returned home for short visits or holiday celebrations, the confrontations with Shawn became increasingly sinister, but her parents refused to believe her. They declared that she was “possessed, dangerous, taken by the devil”. One had to hope that she would get away from there and not go back. Eventually she did leave, and she did survive and even flourish, obtaining her PhD from Cambridge University. But she paid a heavy price, losing her religion and her family in the process.
Following our discussions, we capped off the evening with another delicious meal from our hosts and with the warm, easy companionship among this fine group of friends.
—Bob