by Tara Westover.

Finally got around to reading this harrowing page-turning memoir. The take-away is the lasting damage of psychopathic family systems. It leaves one sad that guilt can endure throughout even the most successful lifetime. Opportunities and talents beyond imagination didn’t deter Tara from returning to her unhealthy Idaho home. Masochistic? Maybe. A need to fix what was wrong with her loved ones to heal herself. A too familiar tale. Parents who fail to protect their kids, siblings who fail to protect each other. In order to each survive themselves.

For me, it wasn’t as compelling as Jeannette Walls’ Glass Castle, Gabrielle Hamilton’s Blood, Bones, & Butter, or J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy. The characters weren’t as well-drawn even if the prose was beautiful. This one sure doesn’t leave one feeling hopeful.