Spiritus Mundi

Trigger Warning I usually try not to let myself read too many spoilers for a book before I get to read it for myself. I wish I’d done the opposite for Educated . I thought that, as a former educator, I would be able to enjoy and appreciate this book. After reading it, though I can certainly appreciate Tara Westover’s life story, I’m not sure that “enjoying” it is possible. Here are the things I wish I’d known before picking up this book. This is not a “nice” book about learning to love school. The narrator and author barely gets any education at all until she turns 17. When she does find her way into school, she almost leaves again because she lacks the fundamentals that so many children get in grade school. Tara’s lack of education is not because it’s hard for her to get to a school; it’s because her parents are afraid of their children being brainwashed by the government. The Westover family’s conspiracy-filled life should not in any way be considered amusing; it’s t