‘Educated’ (2018)
by Tara Westover

Maria, Georg, Heinz, Sandra and Andrew discuss this extraordinary book: ‘an unflicnching account of love and brutality, of the strength of blood ties and the power of imagination’ (Sarah Perry)

Tara Westover and her family grew up preparing for the End of Days but, according to the government, she didn’t exist. She hadn’t been registered with a birth certificate. She had no school records because she’d never set foot in a classroom, and no medical records because her father didn’t believe in hospitals. As she grew older, her father became more radical and her brother more violent. At 16, Tara knew she had to leave home. In doing so, she discovered both the tranformative power of education and the price she had to pay for it.

We discuss how the story unfolds, Tara’s relationship with her various family members, and the turning points in her life; how she emancipates herself through self-education and ends up with a PhD from Cambridge University.

Music played:

• a Mormon hymn
• Bob Marley
• Supertramp