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Westover, Tara. Educated. New York, Random House, 2018.

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Tara Westover's grandmother on her fathers side lived just down the hill from them on Buck's Peak. The Westover children don't go to school. The 3 oldest of the 7 had for the first few years but were later pulled out. The same 3 older children also had birth certificates, but the younger children did not. Tara was the youngest of the 7. One day, Grandma-down-the-hill asked Tara if she wanted to go to school and said her and Grandpa-down-the-hill were leaving for their winterly trip to Arizona in the morning and Tara could come if she wanted. She would have to meet them on their porch at 7 the next morning. Tara said she would have to feed the animals first. In the morning she did not meet her grandparents and didn't go with them.

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Tara's family lives just outside of town, they have never gone to school and have tried not to depend on the government. Her father Gene tells the family about another family near them who were shot by the federal government because  "They wouldn't let the Government brainwash their kids in them public schools" (8) "The Feds surrounded the family's cabin, kept them locked in there for weeks, and when a hungry child, a little boy, snuck out to go hunting, the Feds shot him dead." (9) Gene then told his kids that they couldn't help the Weavers, but they could help themselves. That night they pulled old army bags from the basement and packed them full of herbal medicine and other essentials. Gene called these their "head-for-the-hills bags"

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Tara's mother Faye becomes a Midwife's assistant. After her first time assisting with a birth she tells Gene she can't do it, and Gene had said that this was the Lords calling, and sometimes the Lord asks for hard things. She had never wanted to be a Midwife, It was all Gene's idea. One day Faye comes home and says she was done midwifing, but she could deliver a baby if she had to. Then a woman showed up at their house, asking for Faye to deliver her baby when the time came. She said no and the woman left. The woman came back again and again until Faye agreed. The birth had no complications. The woman said she had a friend who was pregnant and she would say Faye would deliver he baby as well. This was the first time her Tara's mother had ever been the one in charge, despite having 7 kids. She charged about $500 every time she midwifed. This was the first time she had money. Faye took Tara and her older sister Audrey out to eat. Tara had recorded in a pink journal given to her by her mothers mother, Grandma-over-in-town, that her meal had cost $3.30

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3/4 of the Westover children had Birth Certificates, the oldest 3, Tony, Shawn and Tyler. The younger 4 did not. The younger 4 were Luke, Audrey, Richard and Tara. "Luke was fifteen when he asked Mother if he could have a birth certificate" (18) He wanted to enroll in Driver's Ed because their oldest brother Tony was making a lot of money truck driving. So Faye just decided to get birth certificates for the 4 that didn't have them. When she went in to file the paperwork she couldn't remember Tara's exact birthday, she could only remember that Tara was born at the end of September. Gene remembers a different date and Grandma-down-the-hill gave a third date on the affidavit swearing Tara was her granddaughter.

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Gene had been talking about building the biggest snow ball ever once the snow fell, but shortly after Christmas he seemed to deflate. He stopped talking about the snow ball and then stopped talking altogether. By January he wouldn't get out of bed. All he would do was stare at the ceiling. He didn't react when his dinner was brought to him. Tara wasn't even sure he knew she was there. That's when Faye announces they are going to Arizona. Faye piled the kids into station wagon and drove 12 hours to where Genes parents were waiting out the winter like they did every year. Gene barely made it to their front porch. He stayed there for the rest of the day in a rocking chair with a knitted pillow under his head. After 3 days of this, Gene seemed to be getting better. He started listening in on conversations rather than just staring at the carpet. When he heard about his mothers doctor appointment the next day he snapped back to reality. He went on long rants about the corrupt government system and how his mother was an unknowing member of the Illuminati.

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Tara was sleeping on the floor of the car on the way home when she was woken by the car hitting a utility pole. Audrey had fallen on top of her in the crash. Tyler's teeth were bleeding and pushed back. Gene told everyone to stay in the car because there were power lines on it. He leaned in to the passenger side window and asked "Are you okay?" (37) when he got no response he asked again. And then a third time. It was then that Tara realized how severe the accident was. The whole front half of the car and engine had compressed itself and the windshield was cracked. The epicenter of the crack was right in front of the passenger side. Faye was in the passenger seat. Tara couldn't see her face but she was slumped against the seat. They didn't call and ambulance they just took her home. She had dark raccoon like circles around her eyes for months after the accident.

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Tyler, the third oldest Westover child, announced to the family that he was going to go to college. Tara asked what college was and Gene said it was extra school for people who were too dumb to learn the information the first time around. He also said every college professor was an agent of the Illuminati and they were all doing Satan's dirty work. Tyler had always been the black sheep of the family. The other siblings rough housed and they rolled around in the dirt wrestling while he enjoyed reading books and listening to music. Tara and Tyler had listened to choir music every night for a while. he would read while she listened. Faye was still not feeling well. The swelling in her face had gone down but she still had deep dark rings around her eyes.

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Gene Westover has a junkyard on the mountain. He tells Tara they're going to sort the aluminum and the steel. Tara was standing in one of the piles of scraps when Gene threw a piece of metal into the pile. It scraped her real good and she was bleeding. She screamed at him and yelled "Don't throw them here! I'm here!" (56) and he responded with "Don't worry honey," (...) "God and his angels are here, working right alongside us. They won't let you be hurt." (57)

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In the junkyard, once you filled a bin with iron, you had to dump it into a trailer they had on their property. They would dump it using a loader that would lift the bin about 25 feet into the air and then dump. Gene was operating the loader and he told Tara to get in with the metal so she could settle it after it was dumped to fit more in the trailer. he said he'd stop the loader when it was level with the top of the trailer so she could hop out and wait for the dump to be finished. As the loader was raising to dump, a piece of metal fell over Tara's leg and pierced through the skin, trapping her in the loader. She yelled for Gene to stop the dump but he couldn't hear her. She held on to the side of the loader until she couldn't anymore. She fell about 18 feet. The wound left a nasty scar. Tara decided she wanted to go to school.

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Gene and Luke had been preparing cars for the crusher. This included emptying the gas tanks. They collected the gasoline in 5 gallon buckets, which they would then carry across the yard. On one trip back, Luke tripped and spilled gasoline all over his jeans. He then went in for lunch and forgot to change his pants. By the time Luke and Gene had walked back up to the mountain, He had already forgotten about the gasoline. They were getting the cutting torch ready, and he had struck flint and steel. The sparks caught fire and quickly engulfed his leg. Luke was unable to get out of his flaming jeans because he used a string of twine wrapped around his waist several times and tied in a knot instead of a belt. His bulbous steel toed boots that he duck taped on every morning certainly weren't helping him. He ran through the wheat field on the way to the house, spreading the fire into the long grass. Faye wasn't around and Tara was the one that heard his screams. She treated his burn wound at 10 years old. Luke wanted his leg cool so it was wrapped in a plastic bag and they filled a garbage can with cold water.

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Tara gets a job babysitting to avoid having to work in the junkyard or with Gene at all. She babysat Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning for a woman named Myrna. Soon after getting the job, Myrna told Tara she had a friend who needed a babysitter for Tuesdays and Thursdays. There was a man names Randy who wanted to hire a kid to help him pack boxes of cashews and other nuts, so Myrna suggested Tara. Tara also joined dance. She got lessons for free for the work she was doing. The instructor told her to buy a leotard and dance shoes, and Tara said "I can't," (...) "It's not modest." (78)

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The instructor had called Faye to ask about the costumes for their recital. Faye had said no to everything. The instructor ended up making the girls dance in over-sized sweatshirts with giant Santa's sewn onto the front to make them seem more appealing. The night of the recital Faye had only told Gene that Tara had a "thing." he pushed and pushed for answers until she eventually broke and told him it was a dance recital and that Tara had been taking lessons from a woman in town. Tara expected him to go on a rant about socialism, but instead he just grabbed his jacket and the three of them walked to the car. Once Gene had seen the costumes when the girls were on stage, he became angry. On the drive home, he had yelled at Faye, demanding to know why she had let Tara sin so openly. Faye threw her hands in the air and said she didn't know the costumes would be so immodest. Tara knew she knew about the costumes. She had seen them days before and had even thanked the instructor for choosing something Tara could wear.

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Faye had felt guilty after the whole thing with the dance classes, so she signed Tara up for voice lessons. They had been very expensive, but she pays for them using money she makes selling oils and tinctures. After a few lessons, the teacher said Tara was ready to sing in front of the church and it has been arranged. After she sang, the choir director invited her to join the choir. Gene had smiled at everyone complimenting Tara, despite calling nearly all of them gentile for sending their children to public school. Tara said for that day he seemed to forget about socialism and the Illuminati. He just kept repeating "We're very blessed." (82) A man walked over to their pew and said Tara sang like one of God's own angels. Every time Tara would sing, Gene would be there, no matter how tired he was or how many hours he had worked in the junkyard. For Tara's singing he could put aside his fight against the Illuminati. The voice teacher suggested Tara audition for Annie when the town was putting it on. She practiced the songs knowing Gene would likely say no. One night after listening to Tara practice, he told Faye "I'll find the money," (...) "You get her that audition."

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Gene had told the family "On January 1, (...) computer systems all over the world would fail. There would be no electricity, no telephones. All would sink into chaos, and this would usher the Second Coming of Christ." (84)  Tara has been anticipating New Years for months. She was excited to see her father be proven correct when the world shut down for Y2K. People had mocked him and teased him for years about his predictions but he was going to be proven correct. At 11:59 she held her breath. "One more minute, I thought, before everything is gone." (90) At midnight nothing happened. Nothing happened at 12:05 either. Or at 12:10. Tara had gone to bed at about 1:30. As she left the room, she glanced at Gene. "For a moment, I wondered how God could deny him this. He, a faithful servant, who suffered willingly just as Noah had willingly suffered to build the Ark. But God withheld the flood." (91)

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Gene wakes up depressed New Years Day of the year 2000. Faye drives them down to Arizona again. The back seats had been removed from the station wagon and a mattress had been put in. The same thing happens just like last time. A few days after being there Gene returns to himself. He spends countless hours arguing with his mother over treatment for her cancer. It was found in her bone marrow. She refused to quit chemotherapy, but she did ask Faye about herbal treatments. Gene said "Herbals operate by faith. You can't put your trust in a doctor, then ask the Lord to heal you." (93) His mother didn't say a word. She just sat and drank her tea. Gene decides to leave at night again. Richard, the second youngest, drove the first 6 hours. Then the road started to get icy. Gene took over and made a point to speed up when they got back on the highway. Faye asked him if they should drive slower, all he said was "I'm not driving faster than our angels can fly." (93)

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The car ended up crashing in a field of snow. A few days after the crash Tara's neck froze. She couldn't turn her head to look up or to the sides at all. Her mother made tinctures and home remedies. Faye had even called in an energy specialist to help. She suggested Tara imagine herself in a bubble filled with everything she loved and everything that brought her peace. She had and her neck remained immobile. After about a month she got used to the pain. One day she heard a laugh from the end of the hall, a laugh that belonged to her older brother Shawn. Shawn told her she needed a chiropractor. A few days later he walked up behind her. She feels his hands around her skull and before she has time to react he jerks her head and she hears a sharp crack. Tara collapsed to the floor. Everything is black.

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Tony, the oldest Westover child, had bought a truck and had been living on the road with his family until his wife got sick and was put on bedrest. In the contract he signed for the truck is said he had to keep the truck on the road, so he asked Shawn if he would drive it for a week or two. Shawn said yea, but only if Tara would go with him. They got along well and drove all over the Western United States. At a stop in Albuquerque, Shawn was telling Tara about how you can incapacitate a man with minimal effort if you know where to push. He grabbed her wrist and folded it, bending her fingers so they reached uncomfortably towards the inside of her forearm. He continued adding pressure until her arm twisted behind her back. "See? This is a weak point," (...) "If I fold it any more, you'll be immobilized." (...) "I won't, though, because it'd hurt like hell." (105)

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There was a girl that hung around while Tara was at rehearsals. She had walked over and sat next to Shawn, she was always laying her hand on his arm, laughing and tossing her hair. Tara asked Shawn if he liked her and he said he didn't "She's got fish eyes," (...) "They're dead stupid, fish. They're beautiful, but their heads're as empty as a tire." (107) Sadie started stopping by the junkyard around quitting time. She usually showed up with a milkshake, or cookies, or cake for Shawn. He rarely spoke to her and just walked away. She would follow and try to talk to him while he fussed over his horses.

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Shawn started doing this thing with Sadie, he would ask her to go across the street and buy him a Snickers. She would return with a Snickers and he would say "What is this shit? I asked for a Milky Way." (108) She responded with "You said Snickers." (108) and he said he wanted a Milky Way. So she went back to buy him a Milky Way. When she got back he got mad at her for forgetting his Snickers. He continued to play mind games like this with her.

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Shawn came home one day in a weird mood. He had been bossing Sadie around and must have thought the same thing would work on Tara because he asked her to get him a glass of water. "You break your leg?" (109) she asked him. He said he wouldn't drive her to town the next day if she didn't get it. So she got him a glass of water and as she was handing it to him, saw the smile on his face. She dumped the entire thing on his head. She ran down the hall and he caught her. He demanded she apologize and she said no. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and dragged her to the bathroom. He shoved her face into the toilet and demanded she apologize again. She refused. He shoved her head farther into the bowl. He let her up and she went to leave the room. He grabbed her arm and twisted it in the same way he had shown her in the parking lot. She now understood that this maneuver was for control.

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1. Tara Westover's website: https://tarawestover.com/
2. Tara Westover's Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara_Westover
3. Tara Westover's Twitter account: https://twitter.com/tarawestover?lang=en
4. Tara Westover's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TaraWestoverLit/
5. Article about Tara Westover: https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/02/tara-westover-memoir-educated-interview