The Inspiring Journey of Self-Discovery: Understanding the Barnes and Noble Educated Program
Tara Westover's "Educated" is more than just a memoir; it's a powerful testament to the transformative power of education and the resilience of the human spirit. It is a story of transformation, a story of choice. It is one of the most riveting books. Westover recounts overcoming her survivalist Mormon family in order to go to college and emphasizes the importance of education in enlarging her world. She details her journey from her isolated life in the rural mountains of Clifton, Idaho to completing a PhD program in history at the University of Cambridge.
Overcoming Isolation and Embracing Education
Westover's upbringing was far from conventional. She lived in isolation in Buck's Peak, Idaho with her parents, pseudonymously referred to as Gene and Faye Westover respectively, and the rest of her family. Gene was paranoid about hospitals, public education, and the government, partially due to the siege at Ruby Ridge. Faye consequently homeschools the Westover children. Gene denies Westover's attempts to seek normality in her life.
Despite lacking formal education, Westover possessed an insatiable thirst for knowledge. She started college at 17 having had no formal education. Her brother Tyler encourages her to leave home and take the ACT to be able to apply to Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. Westover is later admitted to BYU under a scholarship. After her acceptance, Tara Westover studies at Brigham Young University and receives scholarships allowing her to continue attending.
Navigating the Challenges of Academia
The transition to academia was not without its challenges. The pressure of maintaining her grades in order to keep her scholarship results in Westover feeling stressed. Additionally, her alienation from the outside world and lack of formal schooling become issues. Later, she reconnects with Charles but is unable to act romantically towards him because of her conservative upbringing. Westover now feels alienated in Idaho and worries that Gene may have bipolar disorder. She cuts ties with him but reconnects after he expresses interest in her life at school.
However, Westover's determination and intellectual curiosity propelled her forward. Her professor encourages her to apply for the studying abroad program at Cambridge. After arriving at King's College in Cambridge, Tara Westover is assigned to work with Professor Jonathan Steinberg. Both of her professors encourage her to attend graduate school. Tara Westover applies for and wins the Gates Scholarship and forms a temporary truce with Gene.
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Family Conflicts and Personal Growth
As Westover's world expanded through education, she faced increasing conflict with her family. After Shawn marries Emily, a young woman he was dating, Tara worries about Emily, who previously expressed fear of Shawn. Tara confides to one of her professors about her family's background. After returning to Cambridge, Westover takes steps to be part of the world, including getting immunized for vaccinations her family rejected. She occasionally returns to Idaho where she learns that Shawn is still abusing Emily. Her sister, Audrey, learned about Shawn's behavior, but Faye does not believe her. On another trip home, Shawn briefly shows signs of change but later accuses Audrey of lying about his abusive behavior and threatens to kill her. Tara encounters Shawn with a bloody knife on another visit home. Terrified, she lies that Gene lied about Shawn's treatment to Audrey. Later, she realizes that Faye had never been on her or Audrey's side. After returning to Cambridge, Shawn threatens her life. Audrey also cuts ties with Westover, claiming she is under Satan's control.
These experiences forced her to confront difficult truths about her upbringing and the dynamics within her family. After returning home again, Tara Westover discovers that Erin, Shawn's ex-girlfriend, wrote to Faye that she was delusional and demonizing her brother. Tara returns to Harvard and eventually Cambridge. After suffering panic attacks, she ends contact with her parents for a year, attempting to recover. She struggles in her studies, however Tyler encourages her and she successfully completes her PhD degree. Years later, Westover returns to Idaho for her maternal grandmother's funeral. She reunites with Tyler, his wife, two maternal aunts, and her other siblings, most of whom still take Gene's and Shawn's side.
The Power of Choice and Boundaries
Westover's story highlights the importance of making difficult choices and setting boundaries, even within the context of family relationships. As she explains, "I love these people, does that mean that I shouldn’t say goodbye to them, and finally realizing you can love someone and still choose to say goodbye to them. And that’s how I think of Educated." She emphasizes that choosing to prioritize one's own well-being is not a sign of weakness or disloyalty, but rather an act of self-preservation.
Key Figures in Westover's Life
Several individuals played significant roles in Westover's journey:
- Gene Westover (pseudonym for Val): Westover's father, who did not believe in public education or doctors.
- Faye Westover (pseudonym for LaRee): Westover's mother, a midwife and herbal specialist.
- Tony Westover: Westover's oldest brother and first child of their parents. He is noted only as working with their father at the scrapyard.
- Shawn Westover (pseudonym for Travis, died in 2024): Westover's older brother, the second brother of the siblings, 10 years older than Tara.
- Tyler Westover: Westover's older brother, the third brother of the seven siblings. Tyler is the first to go to college, and he encourages Westover to take the ACT so she can apply and go, too. He supports her against their parents and brother Shawn.
- Luke Westover: Westover's older brother, the fourth brother. Luke is depicted as the brother who caught fire in the scrapyard and Westover had to help Faye nurse him back to health.
- Audrey Westover (pseudonym for Valaree): Westover's only sister. She helps their mother with the herbal business. Although not close, Westover and Audrey together confront their mother about the abuse they suffered from Shawn. Audrey later cuts Westover out of her life, fearful of being disowned by their parents.
- Richard Westover: Westover's older brother, fifth of the brothers, four years older than Tara. Richard remains loyal to the Mormon religion, and gives up his parental compelled isolation.
- Grandma-down-the-hill: Gene's mother.
- Grandma-over-in-town: Faye's mother. A prim and proper woman whom Westover didn't really connect with when she was growing up.
- Aunt Debbie: Faye's estranged sister. After Westover distanced herself from her family, Debbie accepted her and Tyler with open arms.
- Aunt Angie: Faye's other estranged sister. Angie was cast out of the Westover family after filing for unemployment when she was fired from the family business.
- Charles: Westover's first "boyfriend". Clouded by her father's teachings, Westover is never able to get intimate with Charles. She ends up distancing herself from him when Shawn's abuse gets worse and he tries to tell her that Shawn's behavior wasn't normal.
- Drew: Westover's boyfriend during the third part of the memoir.
- Dr. Kerry: Westover's professor at BYU.
- Dr. Jonathan Steinberg: Westover's advisor at Cambridge.
- Erin: One of Shawn's ex-girlfriends. Westover reaches out to her in hopes she will help corroborate Westover's timeline of Shawn's abuse.
- Sadie: Another of Shawn's ex-girlfriends.
- Robin: Westover's second-year roommate.
- Emily Westover: Shawn's wife, who is nearly a decade younger than he.
- Stefanie Westover: Tyler's wife. She helps him transition into the larger world.
Westover's Reflections on Her Upbringing
Westover has offered insightful reflections on her upbringing, stating, "My father created our reality in a really meaningful way because we were so isolated. He would say these things about public education and doctors and the government and we didn't know any better." She decided to write the book after she confronted her parents about her brother's abuse, and the resulting conflict led to her becoming estranged from some members of her family.
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In 2018, she told The New York Times, "I wrote the book I wished I could have given to myself when I was losing my family. When I was going through that experience, I became aware of how important stories are in telling us how to live-how we should feel, when we should feel proud, when we should feel ashamed. I was losing my family, and it seemed to me that there were no stories for that-no stories about what to do when loyalty to your family was somehow in conflict with loyalty to yourself… forgiveness. I wanted a story about forgiveness that did not conflate forgiveness with reconciliation, or did not treat reconciliation as the highest form of forgiveness. In my life, I knew the two might always be separate." Westover said that she set out to explore the complexity of difficult family relationships.
"Educated": A Story of Hope and Inspiration
"Educated" is a powerful and moving memoir that resonates with readers from all walks of life. It is a testament to the transformative power of education, the importance of self-discovery, and the resilience of the human spirit. As one reviewer noted, "This novel will inspire you to break free from anything that may hold you back from achieving your goals. It will take you to places you will not expect."
The novel articulates a story of a young girl, longing for guidance to show her where she needs to be in life, only to find that confirmation within herself. The reader will go from staggering with Tara through the harsh valleys of her life to watching her summit the mountains of her education. When Tara transitions from a small house in a quiet valley to a busy dorm and the streets of Cambridge, readers can understand her feeling of being out of place. But readers will be transported back and forth from the quiet mountain to the busy halls as Tara struggles to fully free herself in this new life. The transition in this setting parallels Tara's build of confidence. As I walked through the halls of her new college, I saw the growth that Tara has gained, inspiring me to build a life for myself just as she did.
Because of the realism of Tara’s story, you are bound to feel a rollercoaster of emotions while reading. On the low ends of this rollercoaster, her brother, Shawn, provokes the most emotion from Tara and contributes the most to her motivation to escape her home. His disregard for Tara’s well-being and violent tendencies make for some very angering encounters. I was sucked into the story when listening to him use racial and sexist slurs, physical, and mental abuse to get what wants. Tara’s father, Gene also participates in the abuse, calling Tara a “disgrace to God”, which makes family struggles, one of Tara’s most prominent issues, pushing her to leave them behind and continue her story.
However, at the high end of her journey through education, she took a piece of her family as she left her parents behind. Her brother, Tyler, was the first one to open her up to new possibilities in her education, widening the horizon of this story. Readers have to watch Tara’s mother become enslaved to the powerful man that Gene is. But, Tara has to feel her anchor slip away and become stranded when she needs help most. The contrast between her family members' makes her life decisions difficult, which is what makes Tara's perseverance throughout the highs and lows of this rollercoaster so inspiring.
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Imagine being trapped, held hostage by the people who are supposed to love you, encourage you, and support you no matter what. Now imagine freedom from that captivity, feeling both successfully relieved, yet beautifully broken. Educated sings the song of a young girl who wants to fly, but can’t because there are chains holding her down. It wasn’t a pretty sight to see her gnawing at the lock on those chains for years. But, it wasn’t until she was told that the opportunities that sat in front of her could set her free. Educated reaches to connect with every emotion the readers have.
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