#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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Amazing book, author, and life!
This is one of the best books I’ve read this year. It reads like a novel and is very inspiring.
For me, there were too many inconsistencies to be believable.
It’s sad how some families can control their children and prevent them from getting an education. Tara proved that it is possible to break free and get the education she so wanted. Her struggle can serve as an inspiration to others who want to break from their families who are keeping them from reaching their full potential and the positive contribution they can make to our world.
I love this book…
By turns fascinating and frightening, Westover’s spare, focused writing style is unflinching. By capturing all aspects of her unconventional, sometimes brutal upbringing, she deposits us into her world; survival means paying attention and following suit. Months later this book remains with me.
I felt myself wanting to reach into the pages and shake some characters and warn others. The pattern of abuse was difficult to swallow. So depressing to know there are abuse victims out there that are unwilling or unable to walk away. Heartbreaker! Aside from that, the book was well written and I am glad it is being widely read.
Ok but got tiresome
Very very interesting .. but not as eye-opening for me as for many others- I was already quite aware of this religious sect and their lifestyle .
Incredible experience but at times pretty unbelievable. It left many unanswered details for me
Such determination is unusual today.
One has to keep reminding oneself this is non- fiction!
An unbelievable real-life sage of one woman’s challenges to become educated. Inspirational!
A perfect example of making the same mistake time after time after time… this book held my attention, but there wasn’t nearly enough learning in it.
Tara is an amazing overcomer of a sad childhood
If everything in this book is true, this was a terribly dysfunctional family whose father put his children’s lives at great risk and their mother did nothing to protect them. Sad.
The author’s story is a bit too full of coincidence. Was it Westover’s intent to appear unsympathetic?
I always wish stories like this could be told without bad language! Personally, I believe it doesn’t add anything to the story.
A woman’s saga from the Idaho mountains through hell into the light of the world. I have so much respect for the author and who she became.
A look into a world rarely described from the inside–an isolated cult filled with mental illness, violence, fear, and sometimes love. Highly recommend.