Educated

Tara Westover was only a little girl when her grandmother told her that she should go to school. She never had a formal education neither her brothers and sister. Growing up in a survivalist family and isolated, Tara was so distant and unfamiliar with the world. Her mother is a herbalist who taught her and all of her siblings alone at home. Her father's belief in God, as he is a Mormons, creates a perspective that seeing outsider are sinners and wrongful for having a formal education, dressing up, being a doctor and the list goes on. Her father liked to keep it that way. 

When her closest brother, out of other seven siblings she has, Tyler made his own path and left home to pursue his education, Tara felt so lonely and was recruited to work in junkyard as there were no many members left in the family. Having spent her time in the regular course, she decided to take the same path like her brother did and braced herself to ask for her firm father's blessing. Denied yet she still took the ACT test though failure came to her. Her brother, Shawn, whom she thought could fill in Tyler's absence, grew out of the way and emotionally abused her and became violent each day. Then she once again made up her mind and tried to paved her way which now led her into became a PhD graduate from University of Cambridge. Yet, after such journey, she wondered if there's still a way back home.

There's no other way that I can describe how exceptionally great Educated is. The way she describes her journey is so true and pure. Her writing gives a new insight how such believe still holds upright in some families. Her brave story to stand up for herself and chose her own path at such young age is out of the world. I am emotionally driven, even sometimes I need to stop a while, because her story is too much and agonize me at some points. In short, this book is beyond inspiring.

If you feel like there are so many stumbling blocks on your path to educate yourself, Tara Westover has already proved that anything is possible even if you know nothing like many others do. She created her own world despite of lack of her father's blessing, mentally abused, betrayal from her mother and sister, financially struggle and lack of formal education. However all those obstacles didn't stop her to become who she is now and inspire many of us. And that's how she called her journey, educated.