We welcome your reviews of books that • were published within the past two years • do not advocate for a political party or politician • do address issues supported by the League, and • intrigued you enough that you want to share them. Please submit your review at any time to Margan and Thad Zajdowicz (Margan.Zajdowicz [at] gmail.com ()).

By Tara Westover

We read books for many reasons—to learn, to be entertained, to relax, to better understand life and the world. My wife recommended this one to me and I let it sit in my pile for many months. Stupid me. When at last I read it, I was gobsmacked. This book amazed, horrified, angered, saddened and gladdened me. I was irritated at myself that I waited so long to read it.

This is a memoir of an amazing woman. Westover is the daughter of Mormon survivalists. Denied schooling because of her father’s beliefs, she and her siblings are “homeschooled” in a household with few books and little intellectual curiosity. While she is highly intelligent, her childhood world revolves only around the family’s remote farm and junkyard, framed by the majestic mountains of Idaho. Heavy themes of religious fundamentalism and misogyny permeate the book, with a father and an older brother who are cruel and sadistic even as they profess their love for the author.

Despite her lack of formal schooling, Westover enters Brigham Young University. She excels through intelligence combined with the sheer will to succeed. She describes and defines the painful and complex relationships that nurture and impede her as she pursues and gains a Ph.D. from Cambridge University. The twists, turns, pain, and joy on these pages are written in clear prose that keeps the pages turning. This is a rewarding book, but you must endure times when you want to scream at Westover to do what she does not do and times when you want to excoriate her family members for behaviors that make you furious.

In an interview in The Atlantic in January 2020, Westover, now a university professor in New York City, was asked if she came from a parochial background. Her answer was provocative: Parochialism, she now thinks, is only knowing and interacting with people who are just like you. In that sense, she feels New York City is every bit as parochial as the tiny Idaho community where she grew up. An interesting perspective and one that we could all consider in our own lives.

Educated has been on The New York Times bestseller list for ninety-six weeks as of the writing of this review. It is a powerful book with a great story, well told, and with so many embedded messages it deserves to be read more than once. Perhaps most of all it is the story of a woman who, born into a world where women are subjugated and considered second-rate, finds the strength within herself to achieve and rise to the pinnacle of her intellectual capability. A mind is a terrible thing to waste. As you read Westover’s experiences, you will be horrified by the fanaticism of those who wish to suppress a fine mind.

—Thad Zajdowicz, Co-chair, Healthcare Committee