One Book, One College (OB1C) is a shared college read designed to promote discussion and understanding of the broader issues we face, both locally and globally. The program aims to create a community of readers and to engender a vibrant and engaging dialogue at Saddleback College and beyond.
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About the Book
Tara Westover writes in her book, Educated: A Memoir: “Everything I had worked for, all my years of study, had been to purchase for myself this one privilege: to see and experience more truths than those given to me by my father, and to use those truths to construct my own mind. I had come to believe that the ability to evaluate many ideas, many histories, many points of view, was at the heart of what it means to self-create. If I yielded now, I would lose more than an argument. I would lose custody of my own mind. This was the price I was being asked to pay, I understood that now. What my father wanted to cast from me wasn’t a demon: it was me.” Westover sees her education as a privilege to “construct [her own] mind,” to “self-create” despite a limiting set of childhood experiences.
One Book, One College Writing Collective
Our Stories
Patrice Urban Ballard
Late summer of 1975 found me in a familiar car – an old white Volkswagen Beetle belonging to my childhood friend, Mary. That day we were on a three-hour drive humming along Michigan’s I-96, skirting Lansing onto the 127 towards Jackson to Spring Arbor College, where Mary would soon begin classes. I was along for the ride. Excitement filled the car.
Not College Material
Preston Hong
“Son, remember, out of all the things in the world, an education can never be taken from you. What you learn in school will follow you for the rest of your life”. This was something that my mom would constantly remind me and siblings throughout our childhood.
Education: An Opportunity Worth Fighting For
Val Sierakowski
Tara Westover’s personal narrative Educated explores how her experiences shaped who she became through obtaining an education that allowed her to escape her educationally limited and psychologically abusive family situation. Westover grew up on a small farm in rural southern Idaho in the late 20th century.
Education and Emulation
Westover’s father, Gene, was the authoritative figure that dictated how her family
behaved and viewed the world. He was a believer in absolutes: his interpretation of Mormonism was the absolute truth, as people of God, Mormons are to live their life in absolute purity, and
anyone who puts themselves above the glory of God is an enemy.
Education: Freedom Through the Pursuit of Truth
Andrew Carter
Madeline Rappaport
Westover took water and turned it into wine by using such limited resources to self-educate herself, and go off to college to escape a life of turmoil and isolation. Being raised a hard-worker from sunrise to sunset, Westover was able to overcome these strifeful obstacles and succeed in a world outside of the edge of a mountain in Idaho.
Tara Westover: A Bumpy Journey to Success
Westover writes a lot about her family, her obstinate father, sadistic brother, weak mother, timid sister and other siblings who left the family. Every time when I read the scene about her father who wanted to “fix” her, I was shocked by those familiar experiences in my own life. My father, Jingbang, was also a stern man.
Self-Creation: A Critical Response to Educated
Haining Zhou
Gizeh Ochoa
If I could describe it all, I would.
But no matter what words I choose, it would never make sense.
The pain of uncertainty…who would have known?
But I knew. And yet I was powerless. Speechless.
I was subjected to prolonged exposure to try to understand. To conform.
But I just wanted to forget.
If I Could Describe It All
Toni Selman
Don’t cry in front of the kids.
Smile as the kids say goodbye.
Keep it together, keep moving, one foot after the other.
Keep it together, you’re almost there.
Get the keys out, unlock the car, let Edgar get in.
Get in the car, close and lock the door.
Now you can cry….
Necessary Family Education
Madison Chaparro
Thank you, Tara. Educated pulled something soul-stirring out of me. I am writing this in
the midst of my child-like hope that you read this. I now hold the opportunity to attend two universities previously unattainable. You broke off pieces of your world to share and that has now made this future possible for me. The word ‘education’ rang empty in my ears up until your
definition.
Thank You
Listen to Westover Discuss What It Means to Be "Educated"
