I recently wrote a review of Educated by Tara Westover, and one line from the book stayed with me:
“First, find out what you are capable of, then decide who you are.”
That sentence captures something essential—not just about Westover’s life, but about how many of us come to understand ourselves. Identity doesn’t always come first. Sometimes, it emerges only after we test our limits.
The quote describes what Tara Westover did with her life. She had to make the decisions on her own and take the steps on her own. She was capable of much more.
I also found this comment on the book’s inside cover:
“Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention.”
This quote fascinated me because I wrote the book Why Life Stories Change: As You Look At Your Own Life Story, You See Yourself Differently.
The focus of my book was on how we can reinvent ourselves and how we see our past differently as we look back on it. We can change what past experiences did for us as we rethink them.
Tara Westover found out who she was, as shown in her memoir. Looking back at our life stories can help us discover who we are, and that effort can improve us.
Give some thought to your life story. Find out what you can do, and then keep doing your best.
See this website's Review of this book, Educated, A Memoir Review of this book, Educated, Memoir on this site.
My full review of this book was reprinted in the St. George, Utah News in 2019
Originally published in 2019. Updated and reframed in 2024
