What does Tara conclude after taking a psychology class at BYU?

With her financial problems resolved, Tara focuses on her studies again. Based on a lecture in her psychology class, she begins to suspect that her father is mentally ill. This idea also leads her to research the shooting of the Weaver family at Ruby Ridge.

What happens to Tara at the end of educated?

By the end of her memoir, Tara has accepted that she may never have a relationship with her family again, but she takes pride in the independence she has established, and the life she has built for herself.

What word did Tara admit to not knowing in class?

One day, in art history class, Tara asks what the word Holocaust means. Everyone assumes she is joking around, and responds coldly. After the class, Tara researches the word, and is horrified and shocked to realize her ignorance.

What mental illness does Tara suspect Gene has?

Her father, who has bipolar disease, is a survivalist prone to protracted manic diatribes followed by periods of debilitating depression. Gene Westover's increasing paranoia—especially after the tragic events of Ruby Ridge in 1992—leaves permanent emotional scars on his children.

What does Tara study for her PhD?

She details her journey from her isolated life in the mountains of Idaho to completing a PhD program in history at Cambridge University. She started college at the age of 17 having had no formal education. She explores her struggle to reconcile her desire to learn with the world she inhabited with her father.

Educated: A Conversation with Tara Westover

What is the summary of Educated by Tara?

Brief summary

Educated by Tara Westover is a memoir that chronicles the author's journey from a homeschooling survivalist family in Idaho to a PhD at Cambridge. It's a powerful story of self-discovery, challenging beliefs, and finding one's own truth.

What does Tara learn about bipolar disorder?

Tara takes an introductory psychology course, and, one day, as the professor lists some of the symptoms of bipolar disorder—"depression, mania, paranoia, euphoria, delusions of grandeur and persecution”—Tara is shocked to realize the symptoms perfectly describe Dad.

Is Tara Westover still married to Drew?

In her widely acclaimed memoir “Educated,” Tara briefly references Drew as a clandestine romantic relationship. Contrary to public perception and expectations of Tara and Drew still being together and married, it appears they have parted ways, as Drew's comment on Amazon indicates.

Who abused Tara?

The youngest in the family, Tara says she was beaten and terrorized by her older brother (identified by the pseudonym Shawn in the book), who dragged her by the hair, choked her, twisted her limbs and verbally assaulted her while her parents turned a blind eye.

Who is Shawn Westover in real life?

Shawn Westover is the fictional name of Tara Westover's estranged older brother in Educated. She did not really grow up with him as he had left the household as a teenager to become a trucker. He had a nasty reputation and Tara witnessed it first hand in how he overreacted violently to her.

What chapter does Shawn abuse Tara?

Summary: Chapter 12: Fish Eyes

One day, when Shawn shows Tara the same bossy attitude he uses with Sadie, she rebels and dumps a glass of water on his head. Shawn becomes infuriated and physically hurts Tara, forcing her to apologize.

What derogatory term does Shawn call Tara?

Shawn calls Tara a derogatory term, “whore”. He uses this term to demean and belittle her, reinfo...

What did Tara learn in college?

Then, lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement.

What chapter does Tara go to BYU?

Chapter 16: Disloyal Man, Disobedient Heaven

Tara is accepted to Brigham Young University and scheduled to start college in January.

Why did Tara and Charles break up Educated?

Though Charles and Tara's relationship ultimately ends as a direct result of this shame—Tara doesn't wish for Charles to realize the extent of the abuse she experiences with her family, and Charles realizes he can't help her—he clearly continues to care for her.

How did Tara end up in jail?

when and where [he] can't be." She tells him she accepted a job offer in Oregon to spare them from becoming like Gemma and Clay, which will force the boys to relive their mistakes. The season ends with Tara's arrest for conspiracy to commit Pamela Toric's murder.

What does Shawn do to Tara in Educated?

Shawn Westover

Beginning when Tara is a teenager, he taunts and abuses her. Shawn also displays violence toward the various women he dates, including his wife Emily. In addition to the violence, Shawn is a skilled liar and manipulator, and he is able to get the entire family to believe his word over Tara's.

Is Educated based on a true story?

How she made that disorienting jump is the subject of her memoir Educated, out now from Random House. Westover's story is as much about her difficult childhood and what it's like to grow up on fringe beliefs as it is about seeing the world through the eyes of a singular, intelligent, and observant person.

Why is Shawn abusive in Educated?

Shawn is very dominant, and motivated by his drive to assert power, especially over women. He abuses Tara after she starts to show signs of independence and self-confidence. Shawn is a bully who wants to crush Tara's spirit, and he is motivated by taking pleasure in breaking her spirit and getting her to submit to him.

How accurate is the book Educated?

Although “there's a little germ of truth,” in “Educated,” the book falsely portrays the Westover family, Atkin said. “They are conservative, patriotic people. Tara says her father is a (Mormon) fundamentalist, which infers that he believes in polygamy. That's certainly not the truth.

Is Tara Westover still estranged from her family?

It also deeply divided her family; she's still estranged from her parents and some siblings. Her mother, meanwhile, has since self-published her own version of the family story, titling the book Educating. But Educated, Westover said, is fundamentally about divergence.

How did Tara Westover's family react to her book?

As you might imagine, from a parental and sibling perspective, Tara's family is upset with the book being printed, with the story being told. In fact, they dispute much of what's been written about them.

Is Tara's father bipolar?

Tara traces her life back to her parents meeting, showing how her mother's rebellion against a small-town sense of propriety propelled her into the arms of a serious young man who would grow into the towering patriarch of the Westover clan. It is suggested that he suffers from bipolar disorder with paranoid tendencies.

Does bipolar get worse with age even if treated?

“Untreated bipolar disorder can worsen with age, with both the frequency of mood episodes and their duration,” says Thomas Scary, MD, MA, staff psychiatrist, Rittenhouse Psychiatric Associates in Philadelphia. “This is true even with treatment, but to a lesser extent.”

What did Tara teach herself?

Then, lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement.