Here at Lotus, we love sharing recommendations on everything from healthy recipes, weekend hiking trails, surf spots, podcasts and books. With the realisation we all enjoy reading books focused on strong, influential females, Miya started up the Lotus Book Club earlier this year.

For our September meetup we read ‘Educated’ written by Tara Westover and met at Daisy’s house in Coogee to discuss the book and of course eat copious amounts of cheese.

Educated is a memoir about a young girl who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PHD from Cambridge University. The book encapsulates the challenges and triumphs of how family, religion, education and love, shape an individual.

The story of the Westover’s is just one of many who lived through a recession, in economic hardship, with limited education, and mental health issues. We felt the main message communicated in the novel is that education and opportunities are a privilege that shouldn’t be taken for granted.

An interesting, and at times confronting read, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in viewing life from a different perspective.