Judy hosted our August meeting to discuss Educated by Tara Westover. It was a delightful evening and; therefore, we spent it outside on her deck. The sandwiches, side dishes, and cheese cake were all delicious. Christe, Ellen, Jo, Judy, Julie, and Nanc attended. We actually talked about the book quite a bit, but we did tend to wander off topic, as usual.
Educated -- what a memoir. I couldn't put the book down, amazed at Tara's memories of family, faith, mental illness, and education. She shared the power of family "love" and "education" in the processes of finding inner strength, self, and new awarenesses, that lead her to leave and be educated in ways she never knew possible. Her hunger to learn new things, the challenges of being so lost in such a different world than hers at Buck's Peak, and eventually the faith others (friends, professors, and finally a counselor) had in her, provided opportunities to help make her journey more possible. Yet, throughout her memoir she shared how difficult it was to break the ties with her "exceptional" (as one reviewer put it) family and upbringing.
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| Water view from the bottom of Judy's driveway. I meant to take a pic from the deck, but neglected to do so. |
Educated -- what a memoir. I couldn't put the book down, amazed at Tara's memories of family, faith, mental illness, and education. She shared the power of family "love" and "education" in the processes of finding inner strength, self, and new awarenesses, that lead her to leave and be educated in ways she never knew possible. Her hunger to learn new things, the challenges of being so lost in such a different world than hers at Buck's Peak, and eventually the faith others (friends, professors, and finally a counselor) had in her, provided opportunities to help make her journey more possible. Yet, throughout her memoir she shared how difficult it was to break the ties with her "exceptional" (as one reviewer put it) family and upbringing.
~Linda Jenkins
Excerpts that stood out:
"You can love someone and still choose to say goodbye to them" she says now. "You can miss a person every day and still be glad that they are no longer in your life" ~ Tara Westover
"My life was narrated for me by others. Their voices were forceful, emphatic, absolute. It had never occurred to me that my voice might be as strong as theirs." ~ Tara Westover
"I am not the child my father raised, but he is the father who raised her." ~ Tara Westover
"But vindication has no power over guilt. No amount of anger or rage directed at others can subdue it, because guilt is never about them. Guilt is the fear of one's own wretchedness. I has nothing to do with other people." ~ Tara Westover
~ Judy Lee
by Sarah Smarsh
October 10, 2019 - Washington Black by Esi Edugyan at TBA
November 14, 2019 - Empire of the Sun by JG Ballard at TBA
December ??, 2019 - No book - Christmas gathering at TBA
January 9, 2019 - America's First Daughter by Stephanie Dray at TBA
February 13, 2019 - The River by Peter Heller at TBA and Oscar nominated film at the library?
Becoming by Michelle Obama
The Trees by Conrad Richter
May 2019 - The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel
June 2019 - Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
July 2019 - The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
August 2019 - Educated by Tara Westover
