Educated is an autobiographical novel by Tara Westover, first published in 2018. It tells the story of Tara, a girl born in the mountains of Idaho, USA, who, through her own continuous learning, breaks free from the shackles of her family of origin and finds redemption and liberation as she reflects on her past. The book is written from the perspectives of both education and family of origin, which is a novel idea.
《你当像鸟飞往你的山》是塔拉·韦斯特弗创作的自传体小说，2018年首次出版。讲述了一个出生在美国爱达荷州山区的姑娘塔拉，通过自己不断的学习，挣脱了原生家庭的伤痕与束缚，在对自己的过往进行反思时得到救赎与解放的故事。 该书从教育和原生家庭这两个角度来书写，立意新颖。
The author of this book is an American author, historian, and PhD in history from Cambridge University. Beneath these glamorous, high-profile titles, it may be hard to imagine that she was once a victim of a sick family of origin. And in this book, Tara uses the gentlest of strokes to draw out her life from birth to the present, putting on paper a childhood wrapped in pain and love.
本书作者是一名美国作家，历史学家，也是剑桥大学的历史学博士。在这些光鲜、瞩目的头衔之下，人们也许难以想象，她曾是一个病态原生家庭的受害者。而在《你当像鸟飞往你的山》一书中，塔拉用最温柔的笔触，对从出生至今的生活抽丝剥茧，将她被痛苦和爱意包裹的童年，写在纸上。
In this book, the author, who lives with her brother and sister parents in the mountains of Idaho, never went to school until she was 17, spent her days with her brother and father dismantling scraps, helping her mother make essential oils, stocking up on food and living materials every day in case the end came, and living according to the lifestyle and ideology instilled by her parents. The extreme distortion of the family of origin described in this book is beyond our comprehension, but step by step, the author regains herself through schooling, breaks the bondage of her family of origin to herself, and finally finds the mountain in her heart.
在书中，作者与兄弟姐姐父母一起生活在爱达荷州的山区，在17岁之前从未上过学，每天与哥哥父亲一起拆解废料，帮母亲调制精油，每天囤积食品生活资料以防末日来临，并且按照父母所灌输的生活方式、意识形态生活下去。这本书中描述的原生家庭极度扭曲，是我们所不能理解的，但是作者却一步步通过学校教育重拾自我，打破原生家庭对自己的束缚，最终找到心中的那座山。
Many years later, when Tara re-read the writings of Hume, Rousseau, and Muller, she was relieved. She returned to Idaho again, saw her long-established siblings and aging parents again, and gradually let go of her resentment. Tara changed her face through reading, leaving the damage behind forever at the age of 16. When she stopped holding on to these old grievances and stopped weighing her family's sins against her own, Tara finally made peace with herself and freed her heart.
很多年后，当塔拉重读了休谟、卢梭、穆勒的著作，她释怀了。她再次回到了爱达荷州，重新见到早已成家立业的哥哥姐姐和逐渐老去的父母，逐渐放下心中的怨恨。塔拉通过读书改头换面，将伤害永远留在了16岁。当她不再为这些旧冤耿耿于怀，也不再将家庭的罪过与自己的罪过权衡比较时，塔拉终于和自己达成了和解，解脱了自己的心。
After reading this book, I sincerely feel that the various kinds of education we receive nowadays are not easy to come by, and that people can find their own way to salvation and start a new life through education. But the most important thing, and the one that I agree with the most, is that education means gaining a different perspective, understanding different people, experiences and history. Get an education, but don't let your education ossify into arrogance. Be proud. Education should be a broadening of your mind, a deepening of your empathy, a broadening of your horizons. It shouldn't make you more stubborn in your prejudices. If people are educated, they should become less certain, not more certain. They should listen more and talk less. They should be passionate about differences and love ideas that are different from theirs.
看完本书，我由衷地感受到当下我们所受各种教育的来之不易，人们通过教育可以找到自己的救赎之路，开启崭新的人生。但最重要的，也是最让我赞同的是：教育意味着获得不同的视角，理解不同的人、经历和历史。接受教育，但不要让你的教育僵化成傲慢。教育应该是你思想的拓展，同理心的深化，视野的开阔。它不应该使你的偏见变得更顽固。如果人们受过教育，他们应该变得不那么确定，而不是更确定。他们应该多听，少说。他们应该对差异满怀激情，热爱那些不同于他们的想法。
Date: May 30, 2022
