In a mountainous area of the United States, there is a peculiar family: a pair of parents, seven children. His father ran a garbage dump and his mother was an herbalist and midwife. The seven children, all black, did not have birth certificates, and never went to the hospital. More particularly, they don't go to school.
Fathers believe that education is brainwashing, there are hundreds of harms to children and no benefit, sending children to school is to give them to the devil, so he resolutely does not let children go to school and study. The mother only has her husband as the leader, so she also acquiesced to the children not to read.
They lived a relatively primitive life in the most developed American society. Tara spent her childhood in a garbage dump, accompanied only by scrap copper and iron, canned peaches, and guns and ammunition. She didn't follow the growth trajectory of most people: kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school, college.
At first, Tara felt that everything was taken for granted. As she grew older, Tara began to doubt her father's claims and the family's so-called fidelity creed. One of her older brothers was violent and often punched and kicked her for no reason, pressing her head down the toilet, jamming her neck and calling her a prostitute. The father and mother did not listen to her complaints.
Tara's other older brother once left home for Brigham Young University through self-study, which allowed her to see another path in life. As she dismantled the scrap yard, she kept thinking about the way forward, and a thought gradually became clear: leave home and go to school.
So she secretly taught herself while working for her father to prepare for college entrance exams. After months of hard work, she miraculously received an admission letter from Brigham Young University. At the age of 17, Tara actually walked into the classroom for the first time.
Because she hadn't experienced most people's educational trajectories, she seemed a bit out of place in college, like a freak. At first, she didn't know what the paper was, didn't know what the textbook was for reading, mistook Europe for a country, and even asked the teacher an inexplicable question.
Tara: "I don't know the word (holocaust), what does it mean?" ”
The professor smiled awkwardly, "Thank you for asking such a question." "Then continue the lesson.
In the relationship with her roommates, she is also incompatible, the original life concept and living habits put her in a very entangled state, she feels that the past self and the present self are two completely separated existences.
In order to get rid of ignorance, Tara, with perseverance and faith, paid a different kind of hardship than ordinary people, and went from failing to being a full-fledged student. She later received a Gates Cambridge Fellowship, where she earned a Master of Philosophy degree; a visiting student at Harvard in 2010; and a PhD in History from the University of Cambridge in 2014.
This girl, born in 1986, achieved a counterattack in her life through education and completely changed her life.
Tara no longer sees others and the world in black and white, and education expands her thinking and horizons. She believes that education is a complete process, in which you know the present you, the past you, and find the true self rather than the definition that others have given you.
Of course, Tara hasn't had an easy journey along the way. Her price was to betray her family and break with her parents and family. The last time she saw her dad, he gave her a stiff hug and said, "You know what, I love you so much." Tara replied, "Of course I know that this has never been the problem. ”
Tara argues that when we try to control and change others in the name of love, that love becomes tainted. This is not the true meaning of love, you love others unconditionally, and give back to the person you love to choose themselves. If you say, I must change the people I love so that I can possess them forever, then this is not love at all, nor is it the value and power of love. So I want to say to my family that I still love them. Even though half of my family had cut me off, I had to accept reality — they had to change to get back into my life. Whether they will change or not is beyond my control.
So, "You can love someone but still choose to say goodbye to him; you can miss a person but still be glad he's not in your life." ”
Tara brings together her upbringing and education into a one-of-a-kind memoir, "You Fly Like a Bird to Your Mountain," which is also her debut novel.
Derived from the Biblical title, "flee as a bird to your mountain," the title implies two deep meanings, "escape" and "find a new faith," perfectly fitting Tara's life.
In 2018, the book set a miracle in the publishing industry, and as soon as it was listed, it topped the New York Times best-seller list, topped the list for more than 80 consecutive weeks, and was translated into 37 languages around the world. At present, it ranks 78th in the Top 250 Douban Books, with a Douban score of 8.9 points.
In 2019, Tara was named "Influential Person of the Year" by Time Magazine, and she used her life experience to convey to people a belief that people have endless potential and possibilities, as long as they have courage, do not compromise, do not give up, everyone can achieve their dreams.
Bill Gates said: "An amazing story that is truly inspiring. As I read her extreme childhood stories, I also began to reflect on my own life. "You Fly Like a Bird to Your Mountain" everyone will love. It's even better than you've ever heard of. ”
Luo Zhenyu said: "This book makes us understand that people still have to complete themselves in the end. ”
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