Educated

Educated

By:

Tara Westover

Spice Scale
Number of books
1 Published
KU
❌
Audiobook
✅
Series Status
Complete
Interconnected
N/A
Overall Rating
Coming Soon

#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 YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW • ONE OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR • BILL GATES’S HOLIDAY READING LIST • A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF THE CENTURY • 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

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: 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

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.