This is not a book about Mormonism. This is not a book about extreme American life. This is not a book about living in a dysfunctional family. This is not a book about facing mental and physical violence and economic dependence. This is a book about a young woman who got over all these things, who became educated and made her new life − a book about almost everything.
„Educated” is a memoir by Tara Westover, a young American scientist. She was the youngest of seven children in an isolated family in Idaho. The kids didn’t have birth certificates and didn’t go to school. You can’t be a person without a birthday, said her grandmother, but Tara’s parents didn’t see the problem in living behind the modern world. Tara considered her family as a pack of wolves, or human beings who roam the mountain like savages because they were separated from civilization.

In her compelling memoir “Educated,” Tara Westover transports us to a world that is seemingly removed from the pinnacles of civilization. This world exists not on a distant continent but within the heart of the United States, a nation synonymous with progress and enlightenment. Westover’s childhood tale, characterized by ignorance and estrangement, proffers a vivid illustration of a life lived at the fringe of modernity. This unique portrayal incites a profound examination of our understanding of modern civilization, its outreach, and the psychological and philosophical repercussions of existing within its periphery. To dissect these complex dimensions, we shall lean on the theoretical frameworks provided by prominent thinkers Jacques Lacan and Jacques Derrida.