Educated: A Memoir Characters/Major Figures

Tara Westover

Tara, the protagonist of the memoir, is the youngest of the seven Westover children. Kept out of school and away from doctors due to her father’s religious beliefs, Tara is very intelligent but spends her childhood in a small and strictly constrained world. Over the course of the memoir, she steadily expands her horizons in pursuit of education, which forces her to confront painful truths about her dysfunctional family.

Gene Westover/Father

The father of the seven Westover children, Gene was brought up in a mainstream Mormon family on Buck’s Peak. Although he permitted his oldest three children to attend school and see doctors, by the time Tara was born, he forced the family to withdraw from society due to paranoia about the federal government and a conviction that the Apocalypse was imminent.

Faye Westover/Mother

The mother of the seven Westover children, Faye was raised in town by “respectable” parents who opposed her marriage to Gene. As Gene’s mental health deteriorates, Faye increasingly supports the Westover family by working as a midwife and selling homemade essential oils.

Shawn Westover

Tara’s second-oldest sibling, he returns to Buck’s Peak when Tara is 13. While he can be tender and protective, he is also volatile and physically violent, especially against women. Shawn marries the much younger Emily, with whom he has two children. He is about 10 years older than Tara.

Tyler Westover

Tara’s third-oldest sibling, his bookish and thoughtful nature sets him apart from the other Westover children. He becomes the first in the family to attend college and goes on to receive a PhD in mechanical engineering. He is about eight years older than Tara.

Audrey Westover

The fifth-oldest Westover child and Tara’s only sister, Audrey is about five years older than Tara.

Richard Westover

The sixth-oldest Westover child, Richard is about four years older than Tara. He follows in Tyler’s footsteps by being a bookish child and eventually earns a PhD in chemistry.

Luke Westover

Tara’s fourth-oldest brother, Luke is about six years older than Tara.

Tony Westover

Tara’s oldest brother, Tony attended some high school but did not graduate, and now works as a truck driver. He is about 12 years older than Tara.

Grandma-down-the-hill

Tara’s paternal grandmother, Grandma-down-the-hill is one of the few Westovers willing to stand up to Gene.

Grandma-over-in-town

Tara’s maternal grandmother, Grandma-over-in-town keeps a clean, comfortable house in town that is a stark contrast to the Westover house on Buck’s Peak.

Charles

Tara’s first boyfriend, Charles and Tara meet while doing community theater near Buck’s Peak. Charles is Mormon, but he is more mainstream than Tara’s family.

Emily

Shawn’s wife, Emily is young and timid. She undergoes two very dangerous pregnancies.

Drew

A friend of Tara’s from Brigham Young University. The two start dating soon after Tara’s college graduation and Drew joins her at Cambridge, where he enters a graduate program in Middle Eastern Studies.

Aunt Angie

Faye’s sister, Angie is demonized by Gene. Angie has very little contact with Faye. After Grandma-over-in-town dies, Tara grows close to Angie.