#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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This was an interesting book. Tara Westover was born and grew up in Idaho. She grew up in a Mormon household, but not a normal one. Her dad was an undiagnosed bipolar who was prone to fits of religious fervor. One of her brothers was abusive, none of the kids went to school because her dad thought that school was a form of Government mind control. Tara eventually decided she wanted something better for herself and took the ACT and went to BYU. She eventually even went to Cambridge and Harvard! This is an interesting and unexpected read! I enjoyed this one!
A compelling read, I couldn’t put it down. This memoir is filled with real, raw truth about family dynamics and working to overcome abuse.
This is a memoir by Tara Westover – incredible that it is her first book. Tara relates her life in a Mormon family – home schooled – worked in her father’s junkyard- mistreated by an older brother – who finds her way into a different life through education. Painful at times – looking forward to her next book.
I am shocked by the ignorance of people in this world. Or, should I just be shocked at the upbringing of children of parents who seem to be mentally incompetent. I wanted to scream at the characters. Who am I to judge? When it comes to physical and mental abuse I feel compelled to voice judgments. I must say for the author to make it so far as to write a book of her life, she has done extremely well.
True, and amazing, story of a young Morman girl who overcomes the constraints of her family to realize her true potential.
Brilliant
The story is believable and interesting, and a much needed voice shining the light on atrocities that are far more common than people would believe.
Amazing story even if only half of it is real.
Dysfunctional family and the daughter who escaped into a better environment thru education. Reminds of Glass Castle by J Wells
This book is a tribute to the survival of the human spirit.
I’m old! Sometimes it’s good to read about how other people live and deal with the world as THEY see it. This is a fight for freedom like I have never read. It’s a must. You will be Educated.
Astonishing book about an abused and neglected girl who quite simply self-educates to search for and find her soul.
Highly recommend this wonderfully written memoir by Tara Westover. She writes beautifully with detailed descriptions of her home in the mountains and then a reality of parental mental health issues and decisions that create huge obstacles for her and her siblings. Her ability to convey horrible situations for a young girl without pulling the reader into a constant feeling of sympathy is due to her straight forward reaction to this is her reality. One of the best books I’ve read in 2018.
Tara’s story is both fascinating and terrifying. It shows the complex world of mental illness from point of view of one who escaped tenacles of the disease.
Her success it creating a new life was won with many losses along the way.
The best book I’ve read this year.
couldn’t put it down
Tara Westover was a teenager when she set foot in school for the first time. Her survivalist parents had home schooled her but she couldn’t read or solve simple arithmetic problems because they had her and her siblings working from the age of seven. Yet she went on to earn a doctorate at Harvard and overcome all the traumas of a physically and mentally abusive upbringing. Truly a heroic figure whose triumph over ignorance is inspiring.
A poignant memoir about the shaping of a fine mind amidst daunting circumstances.
I know people who buy into the medical conspiracy theories and “alternative healing methods” mentioned in this memoir, so It was haunting to read about the extreme physical and emotional damage done to some of these family members.
Terrific retelling of one girl’s journey from a survivalist family in the mountains of Idaho to Cambridge and Harvard. Amazingly honest and deeply personal. A fascinating readwish I could rate it 4.5.