Westoverpresents Shawn—theabout him and the way he treatedher younger self.Westover hintsabuse or sexual exploitation inthe family at any point.) Widening HorizonsWestover also details her earlydecided to go to college againsthis father’s wishes, at fourteen, Tara Westover considers thepossibility for herself.‘Go where I went,’ Tyler said. ‘Go to college.’I snorted.‘BYU takes homeschoolers,’ he said.‘Is that what we are?” I said. They’ll believe it.’‘I won’t get in.’‘You will,’ he said.And it will look a lotdifferent once Dad is no longer whispering his view of it in your ear.’Westover did go for itShe was accepted and startedattending when she was barely 17.
Manyfamilies have a troubled, aggressive family member they might be betteroff disowning, but don’t. The point is, except for the exotic (to some)rural trappings and opportunity for homeschooler-bashing, TaraWestover’s story is fairly mundane.One hears it argued that maybeSeveral times in the narrative, I paused to reflect that I would beterrified if she were a prosecuting story. I did end up believing thather brother is a jerk, if that means anything. Redefining SuccessHer indictment of herIt was these same remedies that hadearlier been practiced on young Tara and the other Westover childrenwithout their having any say in the matter. Tara Westover’s firstencounter with taking Ibuprofen when she was a college student was quitean eye-opener for her.For as long asknow the medicine had been a sham afterall.