#1 NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, AND BOSTON GLOBE BESTSELLER • One of the most acclaimed books of our time: an unforgettable memoir about a young woman who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University “Extraordinary . . . an act of courage and self-invention.”—The New York Times NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW … Times
NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW • ONE OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR • BILL GATES’S HOLIDAY READING LIST • FINALIST: National Book Critics Circle’s Award In Autobiography and John Leonard Prize For Best First Book • PEN/Jean Stein Book Award • Los Angeles Times Book Prize
Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. 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 try a new kind of life. 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.
“Beautiful and propulsive . . . Despite the singularity of [Westover’s] childhood, the questions her book poses are universal: How much of ourselves should we give to those we love? And how much must we betray them to grow up?”—Vogue
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • O: The Oprah Magazine • Time • NPR • Good Morning America • San Francisco Chronicle • The Guardian • The Economist • Financial Times • Newsday • New York Post • theSkimm • Refinery29 • Bloomberg • Self • Real Simple • Town & Country • Bustle • Paste • Publishers Weekly • Library Journal • LibraryReads • Book Riot • Pamela Paul, KQED • New York Public Library
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A wonderful and inspiring book.
Wonderful writing style. Loved this book.
A brilliant memoir!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is the true story of the author and her upbrininging in Idaho. Her mom and dad “lived off the grid” and refused to put their kids in public school – or any school – because of the government involvement. She and her brothers and sisters didn’t even have a birth certificate until they were older. Her mother was an untrained midwife who relied on herb concoctions to heal her patients and her children (they never went to a hospital unless it was forced on them), and her dad was a scrapper.
By the time Tara is 17, she is ready to get out on her own. She is encouraged to try and take the ACT test (Even though she hasn’t ever had formal schooling – not even home schooling) and she scores high. She is accepted into BYU and it starts her journey to Cambridge, Harvard, and a Ph.D. Now she recalls what it was like for her growing up as a mormon whose parents didn’t want anything to do with the outside world, and how she felt torn between where she came from and where she ended up.
This book was okay. It was a bit frustrating, but I kept having to remind myself that I was having a hard time putting myself in her shoes. I would get angry every time she returned to her family and their “crazy notions” as I like to call them, and a brother who had threatened to kill her. I was surprised how hard it was for her to separate herself from her old life even though it was clear to the rest of us that she was being abused. It wasn’t until she finished her Ph.D. that she finally parted from her parents and the abusive brother and told the readers she hasn’t seen them in a few years.
The other problem with this book is that it just wasn’t well written in my opinion. It has only been a few years since she finished that Ph.D program, and it didn’t feel like she has put enough distance between the end of her “saga” and writing an memoir. I think if she would have waited another 10 years, she could have collected her thoughts and her notes and reflected better to write this novel.
I cannot say I don’t recommend it. I know her situation is rare, but any time you get a chance to look into the lives of people who don’t trust the school system or the hospitals or anyone, really, it is a fascinating experience. It is hard not to judge, but it gives you insight into another way of thinking that obviously exists – even in the year 2018.
After reading T W Neal’s Freckled T W Neal then Jeannette Walls’ The Glass Castle, Educated was a natural transition. This story of perseverance, determination, and healing held me from beginning to end. The ending, for me, was the most important. Self-awareness and acceptance are key to a healthy mentality. Whether or not Tara sees her own courage, millions of others found strength to accept their own childhoods as they read her story. Not all can share their stories, but there is something so valuable in reading about those who can.
Great story could not put it down!
One of the best. Original, and absorbing.
Powerful! Grueling at times, too. This memoir gives the reader sharp insight into the damage a mentally ill parent and sibling can inflict on a person’s psyche, and how difficult even the smartest adult can find shedding that burden.
Incredible and amazing memoir!
Biographical story of becoming and developing one’s self despite the odds being against you.
Wow! What a terribly sad account of someone’s life and the result of ignorance and adverse mental health. Very thought provoking for me.
Tara Westover survived a family that makes all of our own dysfunctional relatives seem like the Brady Bunch. Her parents are bad nightmares of cruelty and craziness. Her siblings are terrifying as well. Her very clear writing voice keeps the reader moving along through the violence and madness of her upbringing until we are eager to see her final triumphs.
An unimaginable childhood. No villans though villanous actions at times , but real human family with flaws. Great writing.
Harrowing memoir
Amazing how someone can pull themselves out of a depressing life and become someone so educated and successful.
If you liked The Glass Castle and Hillbilly Elegy, this is a very similar story. Tara Westover describes in beautiful prose what it is like to be raised by parents who are mentally ill, extremely low income and uneducated. And how once she breaks free, how this skewed start in life affects her and how she overcomes this debilitating start. Very good read and deeply affecting, since it is a memoir.
Well written and it blows my mind that Tara grew up like she did. Very different than most folks. But an intelligent young woman who had to make some tough choices to be the woman she is today.
amazing writer, who shares
A fascinating story about growing up in a fundamentalist Mormon family, and despite having no formal grade school or high school education, ultimately pursuing graduate studies at Cambridge. This book will inspire you to think about the definition of education, the value of education, and the importance of those spectacular teachers who see that something important in a student when everyone else passes them by.
Personal narrative of a woman who grows with strength on her personal journey. A wonderful book about achieving personal goals and desires and maintaining family contact.