{"id":79100,"date":"2022-09-18T11:16:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-18T15:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=79100"},"modified":"2026-04-24T14:46:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T18:46:20","slug":"educated-discussion-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/educated-discussion-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Educated by Tara Westover: Discussion Questions for Book Club"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Are you looking for discussion questions for Tara Westover&#8217;s <em>Educated? <\/em>How can these questions help you better relate to Westover&#8217;s story?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Educated <\/em>is the autobiographical story of Tara Westover\u2019s journey from being the child of extreme anti-government, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-anti-science\/\">anti-science<\/a>, and religious fundamentalist Mormon parents to becoming a Cambridge- and Harvard-educated Ph.D.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep reading for <em>Educated <\/em>discussion questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>Educated <\/em>Discussion Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/educated\/preview\" rel=\"nofollow\">Educated: A Memoir<\/a> <\/em>is Tara Westover\u2019s autobiography. In it, she shows us her transformation from being the daughter of survivalist, fundamentalist, anti-science, anti-medicine, and anti-education parents, to becoming a Cambridge-educated historian. Westover gains the strength to break free from the ideological chains of her youth and discovers the agency to make her own choices about how she sees and experiences the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While it is about one individual\u2019s journey, <em>Educated <\/em>speaks to universal themes of self-liberation, the power of education, the perils of extreme ideology, and the trauma of domestic abuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Below are several <em>Educated <\/em>discussion questions to help spark conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u27a1<em> This book is on our list of the best books on education. <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/hub\/books-learning\/books\/best\/best-books-on-education\/\"><em>See the full list.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-discussion-1-breaking-down-your-background\"><strong>Discussion 1: Breaking Down Your Background<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Explore what made <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-you-were-raised\/\">your upbringing<\/a> unique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In a few sentences, describe something you were taught to believe growing up.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How did this belief differ from that of someone you met later in life?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What are some examples of beliefs that might prevent a victim of abuse from speaking out about their experience?\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Discussion 2: Making New Starts<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Work through how you can achieve closure with the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Describe a person, place, or experience that you decided to remove from your life. Explain the situation in a few sentences.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Describe a time when someone refused to believe you about something you\u2019d experienced. How did it make you feel?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Going forward, how can you avoid bringing toxic and destructive people into your life?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Discussion 3: Reflecting on Educated<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Think through the major themes and lessons from <em>Educated<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Tara talks a lot about freeing herself from intellectual and emotional slavery. Why do you think education was so important in freeing her from this bondage?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How do you think families perpetuate the cycle of abuse?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As you reflect on Tara\u2019s experiences, how did your <em>own <\/em>education shape your outlook and make you the person that you are today?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are you looking for discussion questions for Tara Westover&#8217;s Educated? How can these questions help you better relate to Westover&#8217;s story? Educated is the autobiographical story of Tara Westover\u2019s journey from being the child of extreme anti-government, anti-science, and religious fundamentalist Mormon parents to becoming a Cambridge- and Harvard-educated Ph.D. Keep reading for Educated discussion questions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":79103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1882,33],"tags":[49],"class_list":["post-79100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-discussion","category-people","tag-educated","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Educated by Tara Westover: Discussion Questions for Book Club - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Educated is Tara Westover&#039;s autobiography about breaking free from a difficult childhood. 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