#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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One of the best books I’ve read in the past few years. Heartbreaking, inspiring, and uplifting. I couldn’t put it down.
Unbelievable what this young woman went through and survived!
There were times I couldn’t breathe. This is an amazing story.
Excellent memoir. One of the best I’ve read. Bill Gates read it as one of his 50 books he read in 2018. If it’s good enough for Bill Gates, it’s good enough for me.
Self motivation and desire to learn despite a family’s emotional and physical abuse of the mind… Very inspirational for those who want to better themselves and move on to a better way of life…
A great read and inspirational about how the author broke out of the tight control her survivalist father had over his wife and children. It also is a good example of how family impacts your life even when you wants to get away.
Kay Thurman
Tara is a brave woman raised in a survivalist family with an abusive family member. She somehow finds her own way in the world through education, but also continues to be conflicted about her betrayal of her family. I have recommended this book to all my friends.
This is an amazing story. Tara Westover’s childhood was challenging to say the least. Her father and probably her mother too have mental illnesses. Her father is paranoid and keeps away from the “evil Government.” She never sees a doctor or attends school, and has little contact outside of her community and not much outside her family. One of her older brothers is abusive and life is always dangerous.
Despite her experiences, she manages to teach herself enough to get into college and more. She ends up paying a high price. She is an admirable young woman and a very good writer. The books is a quick easy read.
Reminiscent of “The Glass Castle,” a memoir written by a woman who survived a wildly dysfunctional childhood by strength of will, a little (perhaps a lot of) luck, and a strong gift of intellect. My book club read this book and it served up a multitude of discussion topics, ranging from the life (and current status) of the author, to what constitutes an “education”, to debate about the morality of the actions of many of the author’s family members. Solid book club read.
I knew very little of the “survivalist mentality”; a collection of folks to my mind living on the extremes. Rejecting education and modern medicine takes them out of the mainstream. I was appalled by some of the practices within the family and felt that the mother did not fully protect her children from a father that clearly had a mental condition.
As I read the unbelievable facts of this woman’s life growing up I had to keep telling myself “This is real…this actually happened!” What an amazing journey Westover traveled to become who she is today.
Wonderful true story of rising over adversity.
Incredible story escaping from a family that gives new meaning to the term “dysfunctional.” If this weren’t a memoir but fiction, I would not have been able to suspend disbelief at the many incredulous incidences.
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Peter Bernhardt, Author: The Stasi File, 2011 ABNA Quarter Finalist; Kiss of the Shaman’s Daughter [sequel]; Red Romeo;
http://tinyurl.com/a7rnpql – http://sedonaauthor.com – https://tinyurl.com/ycyvps3b
This is an inspiring book to read, but it was dark and disturbing. It’s the journey of a young Mormon girl who lives off the grid on a mountain with a complicated, dysfunctional family. It shows how much difficulty a child can endure in life. She didn’t just learn to survive but also to excel in difficult circumstances. It’s very gritty and frustrating. While they don’t believe in modern medicine-or education-it’s incredible to see the kinds of illnesses and injuries they manage to live through and recover from. A fascinating story into a mindset that I found appalling, so while it’s very interesting, I didn’t find it enjoyable.
“Educated” by Tara Westover is a true page-turner and a powerful memoir that teaches every reader the value of resilience, determination, and the courage to do and become whatever you desire, no matter the magnitude of the odds against your dreams. It is a must read.
Highly Inspirational True Story
What a journey this young woman has taken. I am in awe of the strength, intelligence, courage and persistence needed to move away from the life she had been born into.
Reminds us that regardless of our background, we can succeed. I did take some of it with a grain of salt. It was after all, her story. Might have been interesting to hear the Mother’s side.
The book is both profound, and very difficult to read. It is one of those well-written books so good I will remember it, and at times so cruel and crazy I wish it was fiction. I can’t read about cruelty to children, but that is a constant for much of the book. It should win high awards, my mistake was being curious and reading it during a happy holiday season. It is not a happy book, even though it is about survival. It is akin to The Glass Castle but far more dysfunctional and so extreme and at times cruel such that I wanted to scream and rescue the author Tara Westover, over and over but I couldn’t. Nor would anyone else. She is the same age as my oldest son. Raised by paranoid isolationist Mormon parents on a remote mountain in Idaho, they refused to send her to school or go to the doctor because she would be ‘brainwashed by government’. Or be “poisoned” by medicine. She never stepped inside a classroom until age 17. That she now holds a Ph.D from Cambridge is amazing. The story in between is the book. It is not one I can read again due to the content.
It is the sad truth of today’s world and family.