Erie Reader Book Club: September Selection

Erin Phillips

Join the members of the Erie Reader Book Club for their September meeting on Sunday, Sept. 29 at 1 p.m. as they discuss the book Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover in correspondence with our Back to School issue which hits newsstands Wednesday, Sept. 11.

Join the members of the Erie Reader Book Club in September as we discuss the book Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover in correlation with our Back to School issue. 

Educated tells the story of Tara and her family – counterculture parents who fall deeper and deeper into conspiracy, Mormonism, and isolation in rural Idaho. The book begins by telling the story of Tara's early life through the lens of someone who had little to no contact with mainstream life until she was 17. She never stepped foot into a classroom and lived her life within a haze of paranoia, survivalism, and without basic medical care – even for major trauma like auto-accident induced brain injuries, major burns, and gashes. 

The story begins with her isolated childhood, but quickly turns towards her quest for education. When a favorite sibling returns from college, she finds herself inspired to pursue her own path towards enlightenment, taught herself enough to take some standardized tests, and attended Brigham Young University where she studied psychology, politics, philosophy, and history. She learned about major world events she had no knowledge of prior (like the Holocaust and the Civil Rights Movement). She eventually ends up at Harvard and Cambridge Universities – achieving the highest echelon of education when she started from nothing. 

The book never loses sight of Tara's struggles to reconcile her decisions with her (severed) ties to her family. The story is timeless – a coming-of-age tale about self-discovery, family, and ultimately making the decisions that deeply effect the outcome of one's life.

In our book club, which is open to all and free to join, we will discuss a number of themes from the book including the crunchy-to-conspiracy pipeline, the Ruby Ridge Standoff and the historic intersection of cults and the federal government, the nature of education as a self-motivated act, and the influence of family, both positive and negative.

1 p.m. // Werner Books & Coffee, 3608 Liberty St. // Free to join, book available for purchase at Werner Books // For more info: wernerbooks.com