To Read & To Write

“Educated: A Memoir” by Tara Westover, is the harrowing account of one girl’s journey in rebuilding herself as an individual apart from the girl who was emotionally and physically abused during childhood and teenage years. It was Tara Westover’s biological family, who prided themselves on an extreme form self-sufficiency and self-reliance that claimed all government ties as work of the devil, who perpetrated this abuse. Despite this, Tara’s early years were not without beauty. Growing up next to a massive mountain her family nicknamed “The Indian Princess” for its changing colors during the warmer seasons, rural Idaho was an almost sacred landscape to roam wild and free in, as well as a grand backdrop to contemplate existence itself: “Of course I *did* exist. I had grown up preparing for the Days Of Abomination, watching for the sun to darken, for the moon to drip as if with blood. I spent my summers bottling peaches and my winters rotating supplies. When the World Of Men f...

Marianne Williamson's “Everyday Grace: Having Hope, Finding Forgiveness, and Making Miracles” is a magical book on how we can live life better and more fully, every moment of our lives. This book is addressed to everyone, and starts off with a wonderful interpretation of the Harry Potter world, in which we all start off as plain Muggles and find the magic within our lives with a little help. Further on, there are deeply moving interpretations of fairy tales, such as Cinderella: “When Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother waved her wand… a shimmering energy of golden light surrounded the object of her attention… mice turned into horses, a pumpkin turned into a carriage, and rags turned into a beautiful ball gown. Translated: People around us, once we have shown more faith in them, show up for us more powerfully than we had thought them capable; a job we had thought beneath us, once we throw our creativity into it, becomes the vehicle for great success, our lack in some area, once changed...