An incredible story of education and perseverance. If only we got to hear about the education. I have so many questions after finishing. How did the author go from not knowing to read the text in between the pictures of her college textbook to having a tenured Cambridge professor tell her "I have been teaching at Cambridge for 30 years, and this is one of the best essays I’ve read.”? What did she think of Cambridge? Harvard? If she did any extracurriculars outside of class, what were they? What, after growing up in indoctrinated seclusion, did the author think of traveling with others around Europe? Living in England? Visiting the Middle East? Arabic? What about when she lived in Paris? French? Anyone outside of Idaho in general?

This book is mostly focused (regardless of the author’s location) in rural Clifton, Idaho, the source of all of the author's misery. It is a thorough memoir on the lasting effects of gaslighting, Mormon fundamentalism, and physical and emotional abuse. I guess I just lost patience with the many unexplained gaps, passing mentions of major life events, and equivocal narrative.