On Friday, October 3 Mayor Derek Slaughter will review Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover. This memoir is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Boston Globe bestseller, one of the most acclaimed books of our time.

Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Westover, the youngest of seven children, was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Her father made a living salvaging scrap metal while her mother worked as an unlicensed midwife and herbal healer. Her family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent. When another brother got himself into college, Tara decided to build a new kind of life for herself. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge University. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home.

            Mayor Slaughter graduated from Williamsport Area High School, earned his undergraduate degree in Information Sciences & Technology with a minor in Spanish from Penn State University, and completed his Master of Education from the University of Maryland. He taught mathematics in the Williamsport Area School District and was an adjunct professor of mathematics at Pennsylvania College of Technology. He sat on the City of Williamsport’s Zoning Hearing Board, was a board member of the Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity, as well as a board member of the Lycoming County United Way. Also, prior to becoming mayor, Slaughter was on the steering committee for the Mayors’ Innovation Project, President of the Pennsylvania Municipal League and he was appointed by Governor Wolf to serve as a Commission member on the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. He also served as a Williamsport City Councilman. He began his tenure as mayor in January 2020 and is currently in his second term.

            The review begins at 12:15PM in the Lowry Room of the Welch Family Wing of the James V. Brown Library with a Q&A from 12:45-1:00PM. Complimentary snacks and bottled water will be available. Attendees are also welcome to bring their own lunch. Reservations are required due to space considerations.  Please call the library at 570-326-0536 or use the library’s online reservation calendar (calendar.jvbrown.edu) before 3:00PM on Wednesday, October 1.  Parking is available in the public lot off Market Street, adjacent to the Welch Wing.