BOOKS
Cymbolix Educated
by Tara Westover
4.5
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6 min read
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Reviewed by
LuvemBooks
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A powerful memoir that examines education's ability to both liberate and isolate, told with restrained prose that makes the family dysfunction more impactful.
Our Review
In This Review
- From Survivalist Childhood to Cambridge PhD
- Westover's Unflinching Prose
- Key Figures in Westover's Journey
- Themes of Knowledge and Belonging
- Where the Memoir Occasionally Stumbles
- A Powerful but Difficult Journey
From Survivalist Childhood to Cambridge PhD
Tara Westover's Educated chronicles her journey from a survivalist Mormon family in rural Idaho to earning a PhD from Cambridge University. The memoir reveals how education became both her salvation and the source of devastating family rifts. For readers wondering if Educated is appropriate for teenagers, the answer requires careful consideration of its unflinching portrayal of abuse, religious extremism, and family loyalty.
Westover grew up in a family that distrusted government institutions, including schools and hospitals. Her father's paranoid worldview kept the children isolated from formal education and medical care, while her mother practiced herbalism and midwifery. The family's scrap metal business and preparation for the "End Times" dominated their isolated existence in the shadow of Buck's Peak mountain.
Westover's Unflinching Prose
The memoir's power lies in Westover's ability to present her childhood without melodrama or self-pity. Her prose remains measured even when describing the most harrowing incidents—her brother's severe burns, her own head injury from a car accident that went untreated, and the escalating violence from another brother. This restraint makes the abuse more devastating, not less.
Westover structures the narrative around her gradual awakening to how abnormal her upbringing was. She doesn't present herself as a passive victim but honestly examines her own complicity in the family's dysfunction. The writing style shifts subtly as the narrator becomes more educated, reflecting her expanding vocabulary and worldview without becoming pretentious.
Key Figures in Westover's Journey
The memoir's central tension revolves around Westover's relationship with her parents, particularly her father Gene, whose mental illness and religious extremism drove the family's isolation. Her mother Faye emerges as a more complex figure—simultaneously enabling her husband's delusions while building her own business as an herbalist and energy healer.
Her brothers play crucial roles in shaping her story. Tyler becomes her first example that escape is possible when he leaves for college, while Shawn represents the family's capacity for violence and manipulation. The dynamic between these family members creates the memoir's emotional core, showing how love and abuse can become tragically intertwined.
Dr. Kerry, her psychology professor at BYU, serves as a pivotal mentor figure who introduces her to academic thinking and validates her intelligence. These relationships outside the family become lifelines that make her transformation possible.
Themes of Knowledge and Belonging
Educated explores how education can simultaneously liberate and isolate. Westover's academic achievements come at the cost of her family relationships, raising complex questions about the price of knowledge. The memoir doesn't present education as an unqualified good but shows how learning can create unbridgeable gaps between the self and one's origins.
The book examines memory and truth with sophisticated nuance. Westover acknowledges that her family members might remember events differently, and she questions her own recollections throughout. This uncertainty doesn't weaken the narrative but adds layers of complexity to questions about family mythology and personal truth.
Religious belief functions as both prison and identity in the memoir. Westover shows how extreme interpretations of Mormon doctrine justified her family's isolation and abuse, while also acknowledging the genuine faith that sustained them.
Where the Memoir Occasionally Stumbles
While Educated succeeds as both personal narrative and social commentary, it occasionally feels calculated in its construction. Some scenes seem chosen more for their dramatic impact than their narrative necessity, and certain family members remain somewhat one-dimensional despite Westover's attempts at complexity.
The memoir's middle section, covering her undergraduate years at BYU, sometimes lacks the compelling intensity of her childhood and graduate school experiences. The pacing slows as Westover navigates the more conventional challenges of college life, though these sections remain important for understanding her gradual transformation.
The book's ending, while emotionally satisfying, perhaps ties up the complex family dynamics too neatly. Real-life healing from trauma rarely follows such clear narrative arcs, and some readers may find the conclusion somewhat optimistic given the severity of the abuse described.
A Powerful but Difficult Journey
Educated stands as one of the most compelling memoirs of recent years, joining works like The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls in exploring how children survive dysfunctional families. Westover's book distinguishes itself through its sophisticated examination of education, memory, and belonging.
For teenage readers, the memoir offers valuable insights into the power of education and critical thinking, but parents should be aware of its intense content involving physical and psychological abuse. The book works best for mature readers who can handle its emotional weight and complex family dynamics. Adult readers will find it a profound meditation on the costs and rewards of self-transformation through learning.
You can find Educated at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, your local bookstore, or directly from Random House publishers.