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I just finished "Educated" by Tara Westover. It's this next generation's Glass Castle, written not nearly as well, and less believable. Best Seller, but when you easily google her family on Facebook there are some questions. Why does her father look completely normal when she said his face was basically burned off and he had no mouth? I'm really struggling to believe this story although Tara Westover has made the rounds of all the news shows/talking heads programs.
I don't imagine Tara Westover survived her childhood without some severe mental problems. She even questioned some of her memories. Even if part of it is true her story is horrendous.
I just finished "Educated" by Tara Westover. It's this next generation's Glass Castle, written not nearly as well, and less believable. Best Seller, but when you easily google her family on Facebook there are some questions. Why does her father look completely normal when she said his face was basically burned off and he had no mouth? I'm really struggling to believe this story although Tara Westover has made the rounds of all the news shows/talking heads programs.
I'm halfway through The Secret Life of Bees, which is a short book and so far quite enjoyable. A coming of age story of a young white girl in the south in the 1960's who runs away with her older black maid when they both encounter trouble. Quite good.
I loved both the book and the movie secret life of bees has to be in my top ten books . The end of the movie was the best in my opinion and some mighty fine women there ; Alicia keyes , queen latifya and the other lady who has a japaneese sounding name . cant remember it at the moment but what a cast of fine women there .Yes it made me cry so therefore that is a good movie and a good book .
I just finished "Educated" by Tara Westover. It's this next generation's Glass Castle, written not nearly as well, and less believable. Best Seller, but when you easily google her family on Facebook there are some questions. Why does her father look completely normal when she said his face was basically burned off and he had no mouth? I'm really struggling to believe this story although Tara Westover has made the rounds of all the news shows/talking heads programs.
I just put Educated on my "Want to Read" list after reading an article about Bill Gates' favorite books of 2018. Now I have second thoughts. I am one of the few readers who wasn't enamored with Glass Castle so if this one is less believable and not as well written, I'm pretty sure I'll just pass now. Thanks for the review!
I received Tell Me More by Kelly Corrigan for Christmas. It was a gift from my daughter and she went to a book signing and had the author write "This family appreciates you". I love Corrigan's honesty about being a mother, wife, friend and appreciate her relatable voice.
Interesting about Educated--- which I read and thought was very worthwhile (and I also said it was Glass Castle on steroids). I just found it such a harrowing - bizarre - life, that I just accepted it at its word. I guess you have a point about the father but I do remember where different parts of the book she stated that such and such is remembered differently buy a brother of sister.
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Originally Posted by Mayvenne
Interesting about Educated--- which I read and thought was very worthwhile (and I also said it was Glass Castle on steroids). I just found it such a harrowing - bizarre - life, that I just accepted it at its word. I guess you have a point about the father but I do remember where different parts of the book she stated that such and such is remembered differently buy a brother of sister.
She did acknowledge, in extremely lengthy and detailed descriptions of the harrowing injuries the family suffered, that there were different memories of exactly how the accident occurred or who was present at the time. And I believe - and don't think anyone really truly doesn't agree - that her brother "Shawn" was violent. And the Dad is a prepper and paranoid.
When I saw the pic of her father taken a year after the burning explosion, and he looks completely and totally normal, no scarring whatsoever, I really don't know what to think. All her descriptions of him in the years following the accident are of strangers gasping and looking away in shock, he couldn't make facial expressions, the bottom of his face was gone, the "hole where his mouth used to be", etc. It's just not true. And I don't know how to put that in the context of the book.
The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler
by Robert Payne
Thick bio tome, not at all hard to read but yet not elementary either. This is my third bio of Hitler (developed a fascination of him and WWII and the Holocaust)...and thus far this book has the most in depth overview of his ancestry, boyhood, youth, leading to his WWII atrocities and his death. Reading in conjunction a book on Auschwitz.
We all want to know WHY he became the individual that in effect murdered 40 million people. His youth includes an odd change of behavior, from happy to forlorn, after the death of his brother, great fantasy, devoured many books on war, detested religion, expelled age 15, long years of loneliness, rages, unpredictable behaviors, utterly destroyed by mother's death, grew to have an exalted opinion of himself, slowly became anti-semitic and a recluse....all while a young man.
Somewhere in there must be the basics of becoming HITLER.
She did acknowledge, in extremely lengthy and detailed descriptions of the harrowing injuries the family suffered, that there were different memories of exactly how the accident occurred or who was present at the time. And I believe - and don't think anyone really truly doesn't agree - that her brother "Shawn" was violent. And the Dad is a prepper and paranoid.
When I saw the pic of her father taken a year after the burning explosion, and he looks completely and totally normal, no scarring whatsoever, I really don't know what to think. All her descriptions of him in the years following the accident are of strangers gasping and looking away in shock, he couldn't make facial expressions, the bottom of his face was gone, the "hole where his mouth used to be", etc. It's just not true. And I don't know how to put that in the context of the book.
This is definitely odd. I can understand the differing memories that she acknowledges, and even the Psychology Today article that someone posted above, but I don't know what to make of this -- it seems to be continuously capable of proving what she stated is incorrect. I agree with you that I don't know how to reconcile it, either.
I read Educated much earlier this year, and I can't recall of the details. I remember that it did continuously very much remind me of The Glass Castle, which I think I read about 10 years ago, so it's hard for me to remember everything from that one, too. I did like Educated, and I think I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads, and generally recommend it, but it's not one of those books that I finished and think OMG -- EVERYONE must read this! It was interesting, but I guess I didn't find it world-rocking. I found it interesting that unlike some others I have heard about, the parents didn't want them educated in the public schools or in college, but they didn't forbid it, either. I would have expected them to make it much harder for her to attend school of any kind.
So, while I liked it and found it a worthwhile read, I don't quite get all of the hype it received. It was good, but not one of the greatest books I ever read. (Not even in the Top 5 or probably even 10 of the books I read this last year.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by greatblueheron
The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler
by Robert Payne
Thick bio tome, not at all hard to read but yet not elementary either. This is my third bio of Hitler (developed a fascination of him and WWII and the Holocaust)...and thus far this book has the most in depth overview of his ancestry, boyhood, youth, leading to his WWII atrocities and his death. Reading in conjunction a book on Auschwitz.
We all want to know WHY he became the individual that in effect murdered 40 million people. His youth includes an odd change of behavior, from happy to forlorn, after the death of his brother, great fantasy, devoured many books on war, detested religion, expelled age 15, long years of loneliness, rages, unpredictable behaviors, utterly destroyed by mother's death, grew to have an exalted opinion of himself, slowly became anti-semitic and a recluse....all while a young man.
Somewhere in there must be the basics of becoming HITLER.
I'm eager to hear your final assessment of this when you finish. I've long been interested in WWII in general, and for a while years ago, read many books about WWII and that time period in general. I'd like to read a bio of Hitler (and I might even own one of them that I never got to -- I'll have to check), but as you note, there are several. I read Rise and Fall of the Third Reich about 16 years ago, and it took me a long time to get through it (although at that time, I had very little time to read). I've got a book in my amazon cart that someone here recommended called Travelers in the Third Reich, which deals with why the people were taken in by Hitler, rather than what made Hitler himself so capable of entrancing so many people. He is, no doubt, one of the most fascinating people of the 20th Century, since he affected so many horrible events.
Interesting about Educated--- which I read and thought was very worthwhile (and I also said it was Glass Castle on steroids). I just found it such a harrowing - bizarre - life, that I just accepted it at its word. I guess you have a point about the father but I do remember where different parts of the book she stated that such and such is remembered differently buy a brother of sister.
Memories are a strange thing. I've read some memoirs and thought "there is no way it happened like that". Then I think back to my childhood and all of us have memories that are flawed and/or wrong. Here is an example of one of my "non" memories. When I was 10 my mother and I moved from one house to another house. Now that must have been a huge event for my mother. I don't remember packing anything, packing boxes, seeing boxes, a moving truck, unpacking anything...zip, nada, zilch, lol. I remember carpet being installed, lol. So even though people write their own story they are never 100% correct With our ages the perceptions are different. A memory a child has of one event is entirely different than an adult remembering the same event.
I really like Educated. Not so much the writing but I was fascinated and horrified with the life she grew up in. I don't imagine she is OK.
Memories are a strange thing. I've read some memoirs and thought "there is no way it happened like that". Then I think back to my childhood and all of us have memories that are flawed and/or wrong. Here is an example of one of my "non" memories. When I was 10 my mother and I moved from one house to another house. Now that must have been a huge event for my mother. I don't remember packing anything, packing boxes, seeing boxes, a moving truck, unpacking anything...zip, nada, zilch, lol. I remember carpet being installed, lol. So even though people write their own story they are never 100% correct With our ages the perceptions are different. A memory a child has of one event is entirely different than an adult remembering the same event.
I really like Educated. Not so much the writing but I was fascinated and horrified with the life she grew up in. I don't imagine she is OK.
I've heard that novels are more true than memoir. (Since often a novel, especially a first novel is some kind of disguised autobiography.)
Memories are interesting things and it is fascinating to learn about how memories can be changed, and even when people are absolutely certain of something, the memory can be wrong.
I give a large grain of salt to memoirs. I usually credit the author with good intentions and presume that they are not knowingly outright lying to us. I accept that their memoir is their account of how they really believe things went down, even if it turns out not to be completely accurate. But their interpretation of how events occurred and their belief as to how things happened does show us who they are.
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With our ages the perceptions are different. A memory a child has of one event is entirely different than an adult remembering the same event.