pickI'm so behind on reviews!
This was definitely worth the hype! What struck me the most through was a constant feeling of "there but for the grace of God go I", since so much of her history is similar to mine (more in the comments)...
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ferskner ... I'm also the descendant of Mormon pioneers who settled the intermountain West. My parents were both raised in rural areas and small towns that I identified so much with the area Tara Westover is from. I have crazy conservative conspiracy theory relatives on both sides. I couldn't stop thinking "What if my grandmother hadn't been staunchly liberal? What if my parents hadn't gone to college?... 6y
ferskner ... What if they'd insisted on staying in their hometowns? What if what if what if..." Obviously, most people who do have those backgrounds don't end up like the Westover family, but if you've read the book you know that the majority of her extended family also saw her parents as radical fundamentalists, so I was constantly aware that a few choices by one person could have a devastating effect on generations... 6y
ferskner ...and the foundations of her life felt so similar to my own that it was impossible to not identify with a lot of it, and ruminate on how she ended up in such awful circumstances. Aside from those personal thoughts, I echo everyone else's praise for her writing and her ability to tell her story almost without emotion, which makes it all the more harrowing. 6y
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Kalalalatja Great review! I can only imagine how it must have been to read this with a similar family history 6y
Chrissyreadit Wow! You must have had some significant insight into her emotions and responses. 6y
ferskner @Kalalalatja @Chrissyreadit Thank you! After reading this over again today, I want to be clear that my crazy extended family isn't like hers. :) The vast majority of people in small conservative Western towns aren't like the Westovers. Her story is as shocking to me as to everyone else, but I could see how our family stories were the same until a certain point and how a parent's small decisions can change literally everything for their children. 6y