#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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I loved this book. Often times while reading I forgot it was her life. The brutality and crazy life she lived seemed something fictional. The book shows how education, both conventional and unconventional can shape who we become. Lucky for her she was educated beyond what her family taught her.
Tara Westover’s memoir is at times shocking, terrifying, and heartbreaking. But most importantly, it’s inspiring, reminding readers that knowledge gives us the courage to pursue our individuality and the power to respect each other’s paths. I highly recommend this one!
Tara Westover comes from a rural mountainside town in Idaho where she was raised within a fundamentalist Mormon family. School, doctors and medicine were forbidden but preparing for Doom’s Day and dealing with a mentally ill parent were a part of her daily life.
Westover writes poetically and at times tragically of her path to freedom (and the sacrifices she made), eventually discovering herself and the world surrounding her. With a sharp mind and undaunted spirit, she forged ahead, ultimately achieving hard-won academic credentials and peace. A truly inspiring memoir.
Everyone from Barack Obama to my mother has spent the last year telling me this book is amazing and it still exceeded my expectations. Gripping from start to finish, this book is about what it means to be educated, not just in a ‘school’ sense of the word, but in the sense of winning the freedom to form your own ideas, opinions and sense of self, even when those who should be supporting you the most are the ones holding you back. I have never rooted for a total stranger’s happiness and success the way I rooted for Tara’s.
This coming of age memoir is the remarkable story of life in a rural Idaho survivalist family ruled by an apparently bipolar and rigid Mormon father. The author and her siblings were home schooled in the most casual and ineffective manner to avoid being “brainwashed” in a public school. And girls required little schooling anyway, as their role was to marry early, bear children and serve their husbands. What happens to a remarkable mind born into such a family? How does the ability to think critically emerge? How does it happen that a a couple of the children are able to identify dysfunction, cruelty, illness, and abuse and others are not? The author grapples with how much of one’s self does one owe to one’s family? How much of one’s self should be sacrificed to loyalty? How much should it cost to stay within a family circle?
The fine descriptive writing and well-delineated characters make this book an exceptionally good read. The strength and grit of the author as she finds her way to becoming educated—including a University of Cambridge doctorate after never being in an actual classroom until she was seventeen—make this an inspiring look about the power of human determination.
Memoirs aren’t my favorite genre, but education is one of my favorite topics, so I was drawn to this book, even before I started reading it. Westover has a way of depicting real-life events in a way that seems almost mythical, not overly dramatic or sentimentalized. That her writing is so stark and poignant without her having been “educated” in creative writing gives testimony to concepts like destiny and potential.
Growing up on an Idaho mountain and ending up with a PhD from Harvard provide a springboard for quite a tale, but the way this Pygmalion story unfolds is unique and captivating.
Tara’s story is full of detail, some of it painful to read in its excruciating truths. At the same time it is full of power–the power to endure, to learn, to rise above and beyond all obstacles in life.
Heartrending, compelling and ultimately a testament to the incredible resilience of the human spirit. It reads at the pace of the sharpest page-turning thriller and yet there are moments of insight so filled with wisdom I found myself lingering over them, highlighting them. Simply wonderful.
Still reading this (listening to the audiobook, to be more exact) and it’s fantastic. The story is certainly intriguing, but the writing is flawless. Highly recommended.
One of my favorites of 2018.
Very well written, this author shares the tragic dynamic of her childhood that turned her into the person she is today.
This book was an eye opener. If it was fiction, I’d say it was too far-fetched, but that fact that it’s a true story makes it scary. I can’t imagine growing up like the author.
Amazing what the spirit can accomplish in trying times. Perseverence is the key to survival. This book left me clapping not only for her survival skills, her determination ; but for her educational challenges which she overcame. Bravo!
Tara Westover’s memoir is heartbreaking and inspirational! The obstacles that she had to overcome in her childhood seemed insurmountable but she overcame them. This book makes me appreciate me childhood. I can’t imagine not sending my children to school or to the doctor. I admit that I cringed a few times reading about the injuries that were treated at home. LOVED it!!
The true story of Tara Westover’s young life is riveting in itself, but it is written with such superb control and insight that I could scarcely bear to put it down. It will live with me for the rest of my life.
One of my favorites
Not a fan of this book. Ok. I read it for my book club.
I really admire Tara for revealing so much of her unusual childhood and her decision to leave home. With the encouragement of her brothers who had preceded her she has been able to find her place in the “educated” world and continue her studies and
work. I know the state of Idaho is lax compared to other states in regard to family issues but I’m wondering where is their Child Protection Agency when children are subjected to such treatment!
I don’t typically read nonfiction or memiors but this book is so good. The characters are fascinating and the writing style is fast and entertaining.
A great example of “over-coming” and the will to succeed.
Everyone should read this enlightening book. It’s for us all.