Audiobook Review: Educated by Tara Westover

Westover's memoir, Educated, struck me as it explores the pull of a family connection no matter what sort of instabilities are present.

Tara grew up in rural Idaho in a Mormon family where her father was bipolar, and her mother overlooked all sorts of really terrible situations that her seven children were exposed to.

Facts of Tara's life: her mother is an herbalist, and they were not allowed to go to the doctor. For anything. Broken bones, burns--nothing. Her mother was also an unlicensed midwife and suffered brain damage in a car accident.

Her father is a survivalist hoarding weapons, gasoline, water, food, etc. The family owns a junkyard and Tara and her siblings were required to work in it. Safety was of no concern, and this is where many of the accidents happened, but "God would protect them."

Her older brother was physically abusive, and no one seemed to care.

They were not allowed to go to school. Their homeschooling was nonexistent, until Tara decided, at the age of 17, to study and pass the ACT so she could go to college.

While reading this, you keep thinking, "Don't go back!" Why would you want to subject yourself to the danger and instability of life at home? But Tara returns, again and again, even trying to crawl back after her entire family, and extended family, have disowned her. It's easy to think she was stupid, but I'm reading this having grown up in a "normal," safe environment surrounded by friends and family that were neither mentally ill, nor religious fanatics. My family was easy to love.

It borders on disbelief. But even if some of what she remembers isn't entirely accurate (and she admits this at times) it paints a picture of where her mind was, and is, and how her extreme changes in mindset came about after years of education and some counseling.

So what struck me after reading Educated is that everyone needs family or some type of substitute family. We crave it. We are compelled to return to our roots. And for Westover, this was the source of turmoil that took her years to overcome. I'm sure she is still working on overcoming it.

The narrator, Julia Whelan, is excellent. I believed that this was Tara telling her story.

Fans of memoirs of difficult childhoods (ex: The Glass Castle) will enjoy (well, that might not be exactly the right adjective) Educated.

Published by Random House, February 20, 2018
Audiobook obtained from the library
352 pages

Rating: 4/5

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Book Review: His Right Hand by Mette Ivie Harrison

I chose to read His Right Hand because I had read Harrison's first book, The Bishop's Wife and I wanted to see what our characters were up to now. I enjoyed His Right Hand, but not as much.

A little background. Linda is the Bishop's wife. His Right Hand is not only a mystery, but a book about the Mormon faith. One of the Bishop's closest assistants, Carl, is found dead in the church. He seemed to be a pillar of the community and a loving and supportive husband and father. But after his death, startling secrets are discovered that change everything. The autopsy reveals that Carl was biologically a woman.  This would be startling in any situation, but as a Mormon there are additional complications.

Linda, as always, can't let things go. While trying to support Carl's family she can't help but get mixed up in the investigation.

I thought His Right Hand was a bit more preachy than the first book. This might be because a lot was repeated from the first book about the Mormon faith. I also didn't think the mystery was as compelling as The Bishop's Wife, but it still kept my interest. In the first book, there were multiple issues and more complexity. It gives a good introduction to the faith, and has stirred up some controversy for the author because of her questioning certain things about her faith. I also didn't get that as much in His Right Hand. This second book is just a straightforward murder mystery, complicated by some interesting issues.

I would recommend reading The Bishop's Wife first.  I liked the characters and setting and would recommend His Right Hand if you enjoy the first book.

Published by Soho Crime, December 1, 2015
eARC obtained from NetGalley
352 pages

Rating: 3/5

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Book Review: The Bishop's Wife by Mette Ivie Harrison

The Bishop's Wife is a compelling story, as well as an interesting look into the Mormon faith.

Linda is the wife of a bishop in the Mormon faith. As she tells the story, we get an intimate look into this world without feeling preached at. Linda explains her thoughts and decisions through the filter of her faith, as well as her doubts about it.

There are a couple of mysteries in The Bishop's Wife. First, a young man comes to see the bishop because his wife has left him and his young daughter. As time goes on, the husband becomes a suspect in her possible murder.

Secondly, Anna is about to lose her husband. He is several years older than her and she is his second wife. It is unclear how his first wife died -- he doesn't talk about it and his two sons were too young to remember. Linda finds things as she befriends Anna that make her think there may be some foul play involved.

There are other side stories. A young woman unable to conceive a child.  A young couple gets wed but do not get the proper blessing of the faith. There is much discussion of the idea of being eternally bound to your spouse and children in the afterlife. This affects the aforementioned couple. It also is a big part of Anna's turmoil, because her husband was bound to his first wife, but he has never desired to be bound to Anna. The discussion of this aspect of the afterlife is the biggest theological issue in the book. No matter what happens, good or bad, the first thought is "will they still be bound in heaven?"

The Bishop's Wife did take a while to get going. At first, I thought this was just going to be about this woman's daily life as a bishop's wife. and I was going to put it down. But once the issue was revealed, I was all in.

One might say, "when it rains, it pours" because there are so many different issues, most of them pretty evil, that are addressed in The Bishop's Wife. We can only assume than normal everyday Mormon life isn't like this book (as we can certainly say about most mysteries, thank goodness!) It does make for a story that keeps you turning pages, so much so, that I finished The Bishop's Wife in one day.

If you are interested in a Mormon perspective on family life, I would recommend The Bishop's Wife. But even without the Mormon perspective, it's a good mystery. I didn't see the ending. I would have never thought the bad guy would turn out to be this character.

This is an adult book, and while there's nothing inappropriate for teens, the subject matter may have little appeal. Definitely recommend for the adult crowd, though.

Published by Soho Crime, December 30, 2014
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
352 pages (qualifies for my Books You Can Read in a Day Challenge!)

Rating: 4/5

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