This is a very disturbing book. The abuse and neglect that Tara and her siblings experience is truly terrifying and I find it extraordinary that any of them survived to adulthood.
That a parent would tell a child to do something that is extremely dangerous and life threatening, so that they can prove that God will protect them, is insanity. Religious zealots are truly monstrous.
What did mystify me was the lack of any government intervention or help from others in the community. This was a family where children never attended school; where some of their births weren’t recorded and where major injuries were incurred without proper medical care. How did this family just slip under the radar like this?
What elevates Tara’s story from the usual “toxic horror family saga” is her writing, which is lyrical:
“The gales are strong this close to the mountain, as if the peak itself is exhaling. Down below, the valley is peaceful, undisturbed. Meanwhile our farm dances: the heavy conifer trees sway slowly, while the sagebrush and thistles quiver, bowing before every puff and pocket of air. Behind me a gentle hill slopes upward and stitches itself to the mountain base."
Tara’s will to educate herself, knowing that is her only way out of her family’s stronghold, is almost superhuman. I must say I was a little sceptical in regard to her being able to pass exams that other students had spent their entire education preparing for, and I hope that my scepticism is ill-founded.
I expect that Tara Westover will spend the rest of her life coming to terms with her childhood, and I hope that writing her story has helped her journey to acceptance and peace. I will certainly never forget her story.