What do we do when our families are sources of pain, confusion, or harm? How do we (or can we) outgrow our complicated childhoods when we no longer need the defenses we created?

Today, I am speaking with Tara Westover. Tara earned her PhD in history from Cambridge, which is incredible on its own, but particularly when you remember that she had never stepped foot in a classroom until she was 17. She is the author of the bestselling memoir EDUCATED which describes growing up in a survivalist family and her costly pursuit of learning and unlearning.

In this conversation, Kate and Tara discuss:

How to navigate the religious baggage of our childhoods
Learning to hold people’s point of views but without letting go of your own
Why people aren’t always doing their best (and why knowing that helps restore some dignity)
How to approach people who have different worldviews than us
How to outgrow the defenses we develop as kids in painful or abusive homes

CW: physical, emotional, and spiritual abuse

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