Educated

“I had come to believe that the ability to evaluate many ideas, many histories, many points of view, was at the heart of what it means to self-create.”

Upon reading Tara Westover’s bestselling memoir, Educated, I was struck by how the author used the story of her own unusual upbringing to craft a compelling narrative that felt both unique and universal.

While set in what, for most readers, will be a completely unfamiliar environment, it is grounded in the divisions and anxieties of contemporary America, familiar even to those of us outside of that fascinating country. While the memoir gives voice to a derided and misunderstood counter-culture, it depicts crises of self and belonging that are compelling and accessible to readers of all backgrounds.

The situations and characters that are portrayed are complex and open to multiple interpretations, defying simple or reductive judgements. However, Educated is implicitly polemic, a passionate defence of the necessity of an education that cultivates independent, critical thinking.

The success of the book hence lies in the use of specific and richly realised detail to tell a story of self-creation that has widespread resonance, while never compromising the author’s advocacy for the universal right to education.