Around America in 50 Books by Wendy H. Jones

Around America in 50 Books

by Wendy H. Jones

Idaho

Educated by Tara Westover

This week in our literary tour of the United States, we have reached Idaho and my chosen book is the international bestseller Educated. Blurb

Tara Westover grew up preparing for the end of the world. She was never put in school, never taken to the doctor. She did not even have a birth certificate until she was nine years old.

At sixteen, to escape her father's radicalism and a violent older brother, Tara left home. What followed was a struggle for self-invention, a journey that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes, and the will to change it.

Review

This may be one of the most inspirational books I have ever read. For someone who grew up with no formal schooling and a father who believed it was them against the world, Westover did not let this hold her back, choosing instead to become educated and make her own sense of the world. It is apparent in every carefully crafted word of this book, that she has done just that. This book points to what we can do with our lives if we have the desire and the will to do so. Does it give a sense of Idaho? The answer to that is a definite, yes., especially the backwoods which are described vividly. I would recommend this book to everyone who reads this review and as it is a Christmas issue, it would also make a great Christmas present.

Wendy H. Jones is the award winning, international best-selling author of the DI Shona McKenzie Mysteries, Cass Claymore Investigates Mysteries, Fergus and Flora Mysteries, Bertie the Buffalo children’s books and the Writing Matters books for writers. She is also a writing and marketing coach and the President of the Scottish Association of Writers. As copy editor for Mom’s, she works hard to ensure content is appropriate and free of grammatical and spelling errors. You can learn more about Wendy on her website: https://www.wendyhjones.com/