Educated

By:

Tara Westover

Spice Scale

Number of books

1 Published

KU

❌

Audiobook

✅

Series Status

Complete

Interconnected

N/A

Overall Rating

Coming Soon

“Educated” is a memoir about Tara Westover, who grows up in a strict, survivalist family in rural Idaho with no formal schooling or medical care, taught instead to fear government and mainstream institutions while working in her father’s dangerous junkyard business. As she begins secretly teaching herself enough to take the ACT and get into Brigham Young University, her world widens, and she slowly realizes how isolated and abusive her upbringing has been. The book follows her difficult path through higher education at BYU, Cambridge, and Harvard as she struggles to reconcile love and loyalty to her family with the need to claim her own identity and “custody of her mind,” ultimately exploring what it means to transform yourself when it costs you the people you love most.

Jamie’s review

This will forever be one of my favorite books of all time. The story reads like fiction, but it's the true life story of Tara Westover's life growing up in a survivalist family (no education, no medical care, off the grid) in rural Idaho, WHERE I LIVE. She is my age and we grew up in the same state. The parallels are staggering. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around it.

The stories will blow your mind. It's a must read. I know it was on President Obama's best books list and many, many more lists. It's wildly popular for a reason and everyone I have ever recommended it to has loved it.

Erica’s review

Just read it. It will blow your freaking mind. It's one of the craziest books I've ever read and I was audibly scoffing throughout so much of it. I haven't spoked to one person that has read this and didn't love this book. Jamie and I grew up somewhat close to where the Author did and it STILL makes my head spin thinking about her story. It's a Memoir but so well written and so shocking you will think it's one of our beloved Fantasy books.