#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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Will stay with you forever!
I like personal realistic stories and this is a real life experience
Nonfiction you can’t believe this father really did these things to his children! What atragic life.
“Educated” is a haunting and horrifying memoir of the rampant abuse and dysfunction many families suffer and perpetuate in the name of religion. Tara is one of the lucky ones who saw a world beyond the one in which she was raised, embraced self-awareness, and got out.
Hard to believe the upbringing of this girl and how she overcame the odds.
Like no other memoir.
I liked the book. It’s was amazed to learn that people live that way in the United States. I think to was wonderful that she managed to teach herself what she needed in order to get out of her situation.
Still hard to believe that there are people who live like this. A rare look into people that live off the grid and why.
Even if half of what the author relates is true, good grief. At times I wanted to leap into the book (CD in this case) and knock some sense into several key characters, But totally engrossing, nonetheless.
A book worthy of the hype – but this is not JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy or any book describing a common experience – Tara Westover’s tale is a unique one
I had been hearing about this one for awhile, and I put it off.
Why?
Because I had my fill of punch-to-the-midsection memoirs.
Porochista Khakpour’s Sick: A Memoir.
Chelsea Hodson’s Tonight I’m Someone Else.
Both great books, both of them you should give a shot, but I was not ready for another intense one.
But then the Educate became due at the library, and I had to read it
I ordered it from the library, it took a few months, and after it became due – I decided I had to read it, rather than wait another few months.
I generally read things on Kindle so I can take notes that go into the cloud – but this one I decided to just read.
And what a tale – what a unique tale
Westover’s life is exceptional. She didn’t know it at the time, but she was born off the grid in Idaho, and kept out of school. Her parents did not believe in education, or the government. They were highly religious, and believed everything except for religious texts and a few articles from our founding fathers were sacrilegious and corrupting.
So she stays out of school, learning how to read but that is about it, until she joins BYU at 17.
And then the second half begins.
I’ll let you read the details for yourself, but here are is the most important them I found in the tale.
The most important theme – Narcissistic parents, especially her father
Her parents were difficult, and they had their own beliefs, but it all would have been different if her father was of the mindset –
Tara, you think differently from myself, and I can’t think like you do, but I still love you. I wish you well, and will support you however I can.
That is not her father. Tara is here to do woman’s work, be his semi-paid lackey in his ill-thought out junkyard, and basically live like he wants, which is the only way to live in his opinion.
If she wears mascara she is a whore, and she was called that repeatedly. One scene in particular shook me – she is worried that she is pregnant, even though she had never kissed a boy.
If she stays chaste too long of course, she is rejecting the church’s directives to get married.
If she reads anything outside a religious text or an article from the founding fathers, she is corrupting her own mind.
And so on.
It’s not just that her father holds dogmatic beliefs. He can’t understand how anyone could live any other way, and doesn’t really seem to be able to care for their own feelings.
His beliefs are the only thing to believe, and his existence, at the end of the day, is the only one that matters.
What is he? Does he have a narcissistic personality disorder? Or is he perhaps schizophrenic?
To Tara his diagnosis may be secondary – because primarily his is a case of believing his own way, thinking about himself, and that’s it.
But let’s end this on a positive – Tara’s incredible tale, one that really began at age 17
Tara knew how to read when she was 17, but that was about it. She was ignorant of most everything. The power of this shows that it is never too late to change, to become someone, especially what that someone is an educated person. That is what I love about this tale – Tara finds a great deal of hope, and that means so can we.
Difficult to put down. Tragic in it’s reality. Inspirational.
An incredible memoir!
This is a memoir so keep that in mind. The main character has feelings and survival instincts of the abused, but rises above all to go very far with her education. Really shows how one can surpass even the worst parents and situations.
It was an insightful book that I was unable to put down until I finished it. Truly remarkable that Tara Westover was able to accomplish so much. She was one determined young woman. Made me look back on my childhood and realize I was blessed.
One of the best books I’ve read in the last few years.!
Totally captivating read!!
Amazing story!
A great lesson on taking control and moving on with the life you want to live.
A shocking memoir of an unusual family full of twisted relationships. Unlike anything I’ve ever read before.
I checked that I would recommend the book, but it is so tragic I wanted to put it down. But so beautifully written I had to get to the ending. So tragic that this still happens in today’s society. Godspeed Tara Westover, Godspeed.