#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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Wow.
This book just blew me away. Completely.
I am unsure why people have a hard time believing that this is truth. She is open throughout the book about when memories have been helped along and with saying that things quoted are paraphrased and when they are not. Plus, she had freaking DIARIES to help her parse things together. And honestly, HOW does one make up so many things as this? And have several siblings that back her up? And other family members that have also suffered at the hands of her father? SMH.
I have read multiple books on people who are steeped in Fundamentalist Mormonism – both within polygamy and those who are fundamentalists but don’t practice polygamy and they are all…crazy is the best word that comes to play. They are almost always suffering from delusions of grandeur and have extremely wild views of government and doctors and “outsiders” in general. Every single thing that Ms. Westover’s father suffers from. I have absolutely no trouble believing all that she has put in this book is true.
I am sure that she loves her parent’s very much; I get the impression that she misses her mother quite a bit. But she does not miss the drama, the extreme religiosity [WHO calls a 6 year old a whore?] and their inability to see just how dangerous and abusive Shawn is [perhaps when someone dies? Maybe that will wake them up? Somehow I doubt it – I can see them saying it was in God’s plan and so it is fine that their son killed someone. How terrifying] and continues to be – she is wise to stay as far away from them as possible. To direct quote her:
“You can love someone and still choose to say goodbye to them,” she says now. “You can miss a person every day, and still be glad that they are no longer in your life.”
While this book is difficult at times to read [I am still extremely angry over her parents and especially her mother that turned her back and eye on what was happening to her own children to stay in line with what her husband was teaching and saying it was the truth], this IS an excellent book to read. In my opinion, you will not regret it!
5* Self Discovery Stars
The story of Tara Westover is one of true amazement. To overcome all the obstacles that faced her was one arduous journey. Tara was raised in the countryside of Idaho on the side of a mountain as a Mormon with her many siblings. The life they lead was very secluded, no going to school, no going to hospitals when needed and working for their father in his junkyard.
This book was sometimes tough to read because it was a memoir and that made it all the more real about what Tara and her family had to endure because of the fanatical beliefs her father had bestowed upon them and this also filtered through to some of the siblings.
I have so much admiration for Tara’s strength to overcome her hardships, her determination was fierce, loosing loved ones along the way and gaining others.
Thank you for sharing your fascinating story.
A fierce, powerful, breath-taking memoir of a woman breaking free from a rigid doomsday-believing family that keeps her out of school when she is a child. A heart-breaking, beautifully written story of a woman who achieves an education as a scholar and in life, despite the greatest odds against her. Highly recommended.
Educated by Tara Westover was very interesting because it showed a slice of life (devout Mormonism in Idaho) I’d never been exposed to before. That being said, it also bothered me as a parent, because her mother and father should’ve been charged with child neglect. Westover captured great details (with the help of her journals), and they added to the story’s overall impact.
This book affected me more than any book has in a long time. It’s incredible to think that Tara Westover overcame such pain, violence and oppression to become the woman she is today. Heartbreaking and inspiring in equal measure.
I love a book where the intelligence and personality of the author shines through the prose. This is one of those books. That the story itself is about her upbringing by survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, who were isolated from mainstream society, makes her writing all the more intriguing. She was homeschooled (sort of) and raised in a household where a women’s place was in the home and history books were not to be trusted, yet she somehow makes her way to BYU, and then Cambridge where she earns a PhD in history.
This is a must-read story. You’ll probably find yourself angry, heart-broken, amazed, and most certainly frustrated as you listen to her journey. Dr. Tara Westover is brutally honest, about her family, herself, and her story. Despite tragedy, prejudice, and abuse, she confesses a deep connection to her family. The pull of her previous way of life, and the mountain she grew up at the base of, are a looming presence even as she reaches illustrious heights beyond her rearing.
I don’t often read memoirs, but this is a most unusual life and a tragic and beautiful journey. The writing is authentic and insightful. It’s also an revealing look at the impact of family and the hardships of transforming out of one’s upbringing into a better life.
I’ve never said “Oh my God” so often while reading a memoir.
I was pretty well convinced that i would never recommend this book until I got to the end. I was so horrified by the descriptions of abuse (I do fundraising for a ministry that serves abused kids). But in the end . . . well, Tara found restoration. I surely can see what all the fuss is about and I’m ultimately impressed with this truly unique memoir.
This book reminded me, a lot, of The Glass Castle.
I enjoyed the first 2/3 of it but then she got overly philosophical and repetitive. While the beginning was informative (lots of details) and fascinating, the last was about feelings and perceptions. I am not sure if she left out details because of protecting her family, and maybe herself. But I have so many questions about events and people.
Incredible true story
Inspirational.
Tara Westover has crafted a memoir that resonates into the backwood glades of Appalachia, across the ocean, and to the halls of Oxford. Her story is one of triumph but not without the searing account of familial abuse–physical, mental and emotional that made her one of the strongest women heard from in this century.
I hope she finishes telling her story and what the future has held for her.
A beautifully written autobiography by a young woman with a seriously unbalanced family who managed to escape and build a life for herself. A powerful lesson in just how difficult life can be, and how difficult it can be to leave that life behind.
A survival story that is so much better than Hillbilly Elegy
It is hard to imagine living with [and overcoming the effects of] a family like this. It is hard to assign which individual is more dysfunctional – the mother, the father or the brother – and to give accolades to the girl who escaped them, the dean who supported her efforts to educate herself, and the compassionate, fully developed woman that she became. It is a remarkable story of the triumph of the human spirit over a family life that is so twisted it is hard to comprehend.
This memoir was very honest and the author gives us food for thought about what makes a family. It is heart-breaking but inspiring. It really helped me think about the people in my life as well as ask myself some hard questions.
This memoir was fascinating; like a car wreck you can’t look away from. You know it’s wrong to gawk and stare but the tragedy and shock keep you wanting to know all the uncomfortable details.
Having an idea that in the end everything seems to turn out okay helped to make reading the difficult parts a little easier.
It’s going to make for a great discussion at book club next week.
First, I instantly loved that the book was set in Idaho – not enough exposure to this fantastic gem (there is a pun there as Idaho is the Gem State). Ms. Westover did a remarkable job telling an incredible, difficult story. The book definitely had its hard-to-read sections, not because it was poorly written but because the subject was simply difficult, horrendous at times. I very much liked this book, it very much gave me empathy for the children’s situation, and I totally rooted for Ms. Westover.
SPOILER ALERT: I am so very happy to know that Ms. Westover has become educated, incredibly so, and that she is thriving, at least in her own way, whatever that may be. I have read some negative things about this book, how it is too fantastical to believe, or how it is too graphic a tale, to those who poo-poo this in-your-face depiction of one girl’s remembrance of her life, I say, you have never been in her shoes, you have no room to say what is too much or too little.
LOVED THIS BOOK!
Educated is a memoir about the life of Tara Westover as she grew up in rural Idaho with her large family. Only, her family is a little different than other families in rural Idaho. Growing up Mormon, she is exposed to the radical ideals of her father and his preachings. She learns to believe that she is better off without proper schooling, and that herbs and oils can do just as much as a hospital visit. When Tara begins to see the reality of her situation, her childhood beliefs come into question as she searches for what is best for her in life.
Educated is an eye-opening novel for me and I’m sure for others. Reading this memoir is one thing, but reading this memoir and being able to process that this was the reality of Tara’s life is another. I had a very hard time putting this book down, and I was always intrigued by her childhood memories and the situations she was thrown into. I greatly enjoyed this book, and am thankful that NetGalley gave me the opportunity to read this.
I must admit, in the first chapter, I wasn’t sure I was going to like this book or the people in it. But before long, I was relating too much. I knew exactly who these people were, without having met them. While Tara’s life story was extreme in many ways, I believe many people can relate, to a lesser degree about the struggle of losing a firmly religious family (no matter the religion) over having had your horizons broadened by an education. My heart ached for her every time she believed she had made peace with her family, only to discover she had not. It happened so many times, and every time, I thought, “okay, this will be the one. This is when they realize they’re a family.” It moved me to tears and then to anger. I also had to put the book down several times to remind myself that Tara must be okay because she had written this book. Having to choose her identity, the one her family defined for her, or the one she made for herself, is such a difficult struggle. In the end, she decided for herself and I think, I hope, found peace. Great piece of writing!