Go
Saints!

Friday
March 29th, 2024

educated spotlight pageELLY GRIMM • Leader & Times

 

Most of the time when I read a book, my main thought(s) afterward are rather simple and include something along the lines of “That was REALLY good” or “I really liked (insert feature here) while I was reading it!” Or, very rarely, I’ll think “WHY did I pick that book up? What a waste of time!”

My most recent read, however, left me with so many different thoughts and feelings I wasn’t entirely sure how to put all of them down for this week’s review here. But, as a writer, I will do my best. 

My most recent read was Dr. Tara Westover’s “Educated,” in which Westover recounts overcoming her survivalist Mormon family’s lifestyle in order to go to college, and emphasizes the importance of education to helping enlarge her world. Throughout the book, Westover details her journey from her isolated life in Buck’s Peak in the rural Idaho mountains to completing her PhD in history at Cambridge University in England. Westover also recounts starting college at Brigham Young University at 17 after having had no formal education, and she also talks about her struggle to reconcile her desire to learn with the radical world she inhabited with her father, particularly during her childhood. 

Much like when I read Michelle Obama’s “Becoming,” I really liked how “Educated” is in chronological order, starting with her childhood and then ends with her finishing her PhD and an epilogue about some of her family members. The chronology helps the story move forward very smoothly, and I like how the story doesn’t jump from one time period to another, helping it remain very engaging throughout. Especially during the first part of the book, I felt so sorry for Westover and her siblings because not only did they not officially go to school (which ended up causing some other issues in Westover’s life), but they also didn’t receive some much-needed medical care. The parts that made me particularly cringe with those stories include the descriptions of the injuries sustained in TWO car wrecks (including a severe neck injury for Tara and a severe brain injury for her mother) and an extremely bad burn accident Tara’s older brother Luke suffers. It made me cringe because even though I’m not a parent, I was thinking “WHY would you NOT want your kid to get needed medical care?!” It really baffled me.

mcu women spotlight pageCourtesy photoELLY GRIMM • Leader & Times

 

Thanks to having a Disney+ account, I’ve been rewatching my favorite movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and when I was planning out what I wanted to do for my column on here for this week, I saw on my calendar how March is Women’s History Month. Realizing both those things simultaneously, the thought occurred to me, why not put together an appreciation column talking about some of my favorite MCU female heroes?

Like all my other lists, this is not to bash any character(s), this is all just purely my opinion and my own thoughts.

 

 Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch

Wanda made her MCU debut in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and is currently starring in her own Disney+ series, “WandaVision.” She’s portrayed by Elizabeth Olsen and I love her character because she’s had to go through so much already in her short MCU tenure (including losing her brother, Pietro, and having to watch the love of her life, Vision, die in “Avengers: Infinity War”) and Olsen has been able to capture each emotion perfectly. One moment in particular that stands out for me is in the most recent “WandaVision” episode, viewers are taken back to when she comes across the piece of property where she and Vision were supposed to live, and her grief makes her completely break down – it’s a very stunning and heartbreaking moment and I felt EVERYTHING at that point along with Wanda. 

becoming spotlight pageELLY GRIMM • Leader & Times

 

During the COVID-19 pandemic and with most entertainment venues being shut down, I’ve been getting a lot of reading done and not too long ago, Michelle Obama’s memoir “Becoming” was suggested via social media and after previewing it online, I downloaded it onto my Kindle and continued reading and ultimately enjoyed the book. 

One of the things I like about the book is it’s very organized. Obama starts out by detailing her upbringing and childhood in Chicago, then moves onto her college education and meeting her future husband (and future POTUS) while they were both working at the same law firm, then onto her time as First Lady, and then concludes with some of the more recent happenings in her life. I like how the story is told chronologically and doesn’t jump from one time period to another, and it remains very engaging throughout because of how everything is laid out. 

Something else that kept the book engaging for me was the pacing. It’s very sharp and I liked how there wasn’t one part or story that’s lingered on more than another part. Each anecdote told throughout the book, and each section of the book, are given just enough time and detail to say what needs to be said, and at no point was I thinking something along the lines of “Get to the point already!” 

I also like how the book genuinely feels like a story being told instead of being stiff and cold and unfeeling, like some memoirs I’ve read in the past. Everything flows together really well, and I really liked how easily it reads. I particularly enjoyed the anecdotes Obama tells about her family throughout, such as getting into fights with her older brother (because who among us with siblings HASN’T had at least one fight with one or another) and how steady and supportive her parents were with everything she wanted to do. One part of the book I related to in particular is when she’s recalling her college years and making sure all of her class notes and work are organized, I couldn’t help but say to myself “OMG, that was ME when I was in college!” Along with those laughs, however, came some tears – the part where Obama talks about her dad passing away (and her best friend around the same time) and how her grief made her feel almost numb is written very well, and it reminded me of how I felt after some of my relatives passed away.