Educated: A Memoir - Hardcover

"Westover has somehow managed not only to capture her unsurpassably exceptional upbringing, but to make her current situation seem not so exceptional at all, and resonant for many others."--The New York Times Book Review

"Westover is a keen and honest guide to the difficulties of filial love, and to the enchantment of embracing a life of the mind."--The New Yorker

"An amazing story, and truly inspiring. It's even better than you've heard."--Bill Gates

"Heart-wrenching . . . a beautiful testament to the power of education to open eyes and change lives."--Amy Chua, The New York Times Book Review

"A coming-of-age memoir reminiscent of The Glass Castle."--O: The Oprah Magazine

"Westover's one-of-a-kind memoir is about the shaping of a mind. . . . In briskly paced prose, she evokes a childhood that completely defined her. Yet it was also, she gradually sensed, deforming her."--The Atlantic

"Tara Westover is living proof that some people are flat-out, boots-always-laced-up indomitable. Her new book, Educated, is a heartbreaking, heartwarming, best-in-years memoir about striding beyond the limitations of birth and environment into a better life. . . . ★★★★ out of four."--USA Today

"[Educated] left me speechless with wonder. [Westover's] lyrical prose is mesmerizing, as is her personal story, growing up in a family in which girls were supposed to aspire only to become wives--and in which coveting an education was considered sinful. Her journey will surprise and inspire men and women alike."--Refinery29

"Riveting . . . Westover brings readers deep into this world, a milieu usually hidden from outsiders. . . . Her story is remarkable, as each extreme anecdote described in tidy prose attests."--The Economist

"A subtle, nuanced study of how dysfunction of any kind can be normalized even within the most conventional family structure, and of the damage such containment can do."--Financial Times

"Whether narrating scenes of fury and violence or evoking rural landscapes or tortured self-analysis, Westover writes with uncommon intelligence and grace. . . . One of the most improbable and fascinating journeys I've read in recent years."--Newsday

#1 NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, AND BOSTON GLOBE BESTSELLER &; 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 FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE&;S AWARD IN AUTOBIOGRAPHY &; FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE&;S JOHN LEONARD PRIZE FOR BEST FIRST BOOK &; FINALIST FOR THE PEN/JEAN STEIN BOOK AWARD &; FINALIST FOR THE LOS ANGELES BOOK PRIZE

NAMED ONE OF PASTE&;S BEST MEMOIRS OF THE DECADE &; 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 &; BookRiot &; Pamela Paul, KQED &; New York Public Library

An unforgettable memoir about a young girl who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University

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 [Tara 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

&;Westover has somehow managed not only to capture her unsurpassably exceptional upbringing, but to make her current situation seem not so exceptional at all, and resonant for many others.&;&;The New York Times Book Review