#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 would recommend if you enjoy real life stories. That was the one draw back for me knowing this actually happened to the author. Ends well but a lot goes on before!!
This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. The story is haunting and powerful. Westover’s writing is excellent and kept me glued to the story. I couldn’t put it down.
Excellent memoir.
The experience of changing worlds and reality in the life of one woman raised outside of the modern cultural experience is gripping.
Not as good as all the hype.
well written and fascinating memoir!
This raw memoir blew me away. I was riveted by the emotional and physical danger that lurked throughout the book. A suspenseful story that kept me enthralled. A courageous book.
Educated by Tara Westover took my breath away. There are so many times during Educated you wish you could grab Tara the young girl and take her away from the madness of her childhood. You will then want to take Tara the young adult and explain to her that her father has her brainwashed. The reader will cease to want to help Tara the adult you’ll do nothing but shake your head at her relentless want of family love and need of parent approval.
Westover is a prolific writer. Her descriptions, theories, and explanations break the reader’s heart while wanting to know more and then more again. If you read one nonfiction book a year, let it be Educated by Tara Westover.
My life view changed after reading this book. I was in an odd transitional phase where I had just finished my freshman year of college but I was still on campus taking classes and all my friends were gone. This book brought me through to the next stage in life, and I could relate the situations in her as I was raised homeschooled in a rural area in the mountains of Northern New Hampshire were some of the encounters (especially the dad) in the book occurred in my growing up. I highly recommend this memoir as it shows us that our lives are meant to be shared, cried over, laughed over, and celebrated, not hidden. I now feel confident in the things I’ve experienced and what I’ve overcome.
I was disappointed after all the hype that led me to read it. It just felt too unbelievable to be true and it was quite depressing to read it.
I didn’t really care for this book.
I loved this book!
Many people have summed this one up, so I’m going to skip that portion of my review and get right into my thoughts. It’s clear that a lot of Tara’s childhood problems came from mental illness on behalf of her father, and yet, she thought her mother was an ally for her. But then her mother suffered from what appears to be a TBI, and then she no longer had her mother as an ally. Could that merely be a coincidence, a conclusion drawn from the vague inference in the text? Or could it just be that her mother was so devoted to her husband, that it was her duty to back him up?
We see glimpses of a good man underneath the complete disregard for his children’s safety. Still, I think what shines through the most for me is his utter ignorance, and his unwillingness to better himself. Though she does point out that her younger brother does get proper education because her father suddenly supports it, though we aren’t entirely told why outside of “he’s a genius”). Typical of my readings on people growing up Mormon, there’s this element that the way they are living isn’t what the government wants them to do, so there are levels of fear and distrust. I think with that typical feeling it makes her father’s paranoia that much more so, and that paranoia ruled the way the children grew up: hoarding supplies, no public education (or even a proper homeschool education), no appropriate healthcare, etc.
I wanted to be angry with Tara’s endless forgiveness of her brother, her willingness to blame his behavior on the vast amounts of times he was seriously injured, but I can’t. It sounds as if he too is bi-polar like her father, and the atmosphere in which she was raised demanded that family is first and that she forgive him. While it comes through that she did try to avoid him; there were a lot of instances where she could have better avoided him. Her willingness to forgive and to hope things would be better outmatched the knowledge that she shouldn’t be around him.
The fact that the other 3 siblings that left home have a Ph.D. is very telling of the suppression the children that remained at home live under. Tara’s drive to succeed in life shines through in her writing, and while some things seemed to be glossed over in the text, either due to poor memory or writing constraints, she succeeds in her goals. (it’s almost unbelievable how easily money came to her to do all of this between the classes, paying for an apartment, and the numerous flights.) Clearly, there is more at play than what we’re given in the text.) Her goals grow and expand as she goes through personal evolution, and she goes after them.
The thing that kept me from giving this 5 stars was that I felt some of the text was repetitive. Also, either due to poor memory or poor recording, things were brought up but then disregarded and not further explored when they seemed integral to the overall storyline. I would also hazard a guess that Tara suffered from PTSD (possibly C-PTSD though that isn’t in the DSM), and because often her stints in therapy were sporadic, that was why it wasn’t diagnosed. A person that can go through that level of childhood trauma and come out so spectacularly is commendable. Yet I am saddened by her hopes of a reconciliation one day with her family as they are so toxic that she clearly is better off without them.
Even if you’re not a memoir fan, you should read this one. The exceptional story Westover weaves of her childhood through to her personal awakening in her adulthood is, well, jaw dropping. The amount of personal strength and strength of character Westover encompasses is truly awe inspiring and I still find myself shaking my head, wondering, how she was able to free herself from the twisted vines of her immediate family.
Following the conclusion of “Educated”, I found myself profoundly thankful for the parents I was blessed with and eternally thankful I never had to experience anything she had in her life.
I highly recommend this memoir, you’ll find that you cannot put it down…
One of the most compelling memoirs I have ever read. Gut-wrenching, heart-breaking and yet hopeful. This informative book about the suffocation of being born into a religious zealot’s home, is a must read in our times of religious fanaticism, (be it Mormon, Muslim or any other). This line grabbed me and I couldn’t let go: “My life was narrated for me by others. Their voices were forceful, emphatic, absolute. It had never occurred to me that my voice might be as strong as theirs.”
Kudos to Westover for her level of detail and for contrasting the stifling environment of her home with the mountain which brought her peace and the chance to expand her horizons. Well done!
It shows how hard it is to exit an abusive family and how deeply ingrained negative messages about self can be when they begin in childhood. Also an amazing story about redemption and how everyone can help pull others to a place of health, safety and an environment where they can flourish
This heart-wrenching true story demonstrates the ability of the human spirit to rise above even the most painful of circumstances. The author, Tara Westover, is such a courageous young woman to have written about her experience with her fanatical, dysfunctional family and the impact on her life. She is fortunate to have her level of intelligence and perseverance to break away from the confining distorted life view of her father. Her education saved her from a life of abuse and limitation but also caused her much anguish in being isolated from most of the rest of her family.
This book reads like fiction – some of the scenes from her childhood still haunt me. I loved following the author’s journey through these dark episodes of her past and rooted for her when she found her way through them. I loved that it didn’t end with everyone reconciling and getting along. That’s life…and that’s family.
An all-time favorite!
Beautifully written life journey of a woman’s struggle to overcome the circumstances of her birth.