We had a very animated discussion of Tara Westover's memoir of growing up in rural Idaho, Educated, at our December meeting. It was difficult for some of us to accept that her mother and grandmother could abandon her to such ill treatment by her father and brother; but others of us interpreted her account as testimony to the strength and resilience of her own spirit and intellect. Given that she eventually received a great education, earning a Ph.D., some of us questioned her repeated returns to the family that so abused and neglected her. We did agree that her journey was really remarkable. And that while her memory could occasionally seem unreliable, her journey from impoverished Idaho to academic success showed her determination and spirit. We thoroughly enjoyed the discussion.
Our next book will be The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai. You can read a review here. We meet Wednesday, February 5 in Richardson Library, Room 300. Please note that we no longer meet in Room 115, but will schedule in other rooms from now on. We gather at 11, with discussion from 11:30 to 12:30, so please bring your brown bag lunch! For further information contact Kathryn DeGraff or Helen Marlborough.
We continue to review the titles on our list for consideration for upcoming discussions. Please let Kathryn, Helen, or anyone else in the group, know if you have a favorite book you would like to share with your DES colleagues. As you can tell from the posts, we are interested in a wide range of fiction and non fiction. We enjoy our sessions thoroughly and always have room for more people and more insights.
