By Tara Westover
This is a fascinating memoir by Tara Westover. She was raised in a survivalist, Mormon family in rural Idaho. She grew up never going to school, never going to the doctor, without a birth certificate, without being sure when she was born. She and her siblings were raised by an emotionally abusive, controlling father, and a cowering mother. Her father was so careless that it is surprising that they survived into adulthood!
She is bright and decides to take the ACT test and go to college. She qualifies for entrance to Brigham Young University and works her way through college. A professor champions her and helps her get a fellowship to Cambridge University in England for a year. While there another professor believes in her and encourages her to apply for a second scholarship to come and study at Cambridge. She will end up with a Ph.D. in history. She has two other brothers who hold Ph.D.s, whereas four other siblings have no high school diploma.
Numerous times while reading this riveting memoir, I said to myself: “This father is crazy! And her mother is a wimp!”
At the time of writing, Tara was estranged from her parents and several of her siblings.
This is a well-written book, difficult to put down.