Wow. I have immense respect for Westover who through the sheer force of will has done something few who have had public (or private for that matter) education have been able to do. This book made me wonder how many other Taras are out there and what we're losing as a society as a result. If this book can make one person reach out to help a struggling kid trying to get an education, then it's worth everything. This is beautifully written in a prose style that pulls you along. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Read this!

This memoir is gripping from page one. We get a glimpse into the life of a girl who was raised without a mainstream education. At seventeen, she took matters into her own hands, studying enough to get accepted to Brigham Young University, then to Cambridge University and Harvard. She shares every struggle, triumph, and heartbreak with extreme detail. Some of the scenes will take your breath away. After all that she went through, I didn't get a sense that this was supposed to be a "tell all" book about her extremist parents or that she was bitter in any way. She writes with candor but also with a deep understanding of her family's actions. The last chapter was the most touching as she returned to her home. It shows that even after making a new life for herself, she still longed for a connection with her family. The end is not what you expect. I recommend this to anyone who has struggled with their identity and still looking for their place in the world. This story will give you the courage to break free of what is holding you back.

“Educated” by Tara Westover is one of the most inspiring memoirs I’ve read. Westover was raised in a poor, rural, abusive survivalist family in which she never allowed to attend school. She then went on to attend college and earned a PhD from Cambridge. Her story of “education” deals with more than just her collegiate accomplishments, but her ability to cast aside the religious brainwashing from her family and think for herself. Empowering.

It is hard to review this memoir. It is well written, but difficult to read due to the experiences of the author. I found it was very well framed and the author did a good job of sharing such a personal story in a cohesive way. I appreciated her opening her life. It was a gift as a reader to read about a life and childhood so different from my own.

Educated is a memoir that reads like an abnormal psychology textbook. Westover’s account brought two similar stories to mind — The Glass Castle and Hillbilly Elegy. If we’re giving out awards for the craziest character, Tara’s father gets the trophy. He was a religious fanatic who didn’t trust the government and bought into all of the crazy conspiracy theories that go along with that mindset. Of the three books, I enjoyed this one the most. It’s a “miracle“ Tara escaped that lifestyle, albeit not totally unscathed.

I was given a free copy of this book for an honest review. This book is unlike anything I have ever read. Tara is an amazing, young woman who grows up completely uneducated under the thumb of her father, a religious zealot, in a rural town. Tara is an obvious genius who teaches herself math and English well enough to gain acceptance into college. This book is about her personal struggle to overcome her past. An incredible, uplifting memoir. Highly recommended.

Buck Peak - a dangerous place to live....at any age!

Tara Westover grew up on a mountain with a paranoid volatile father who spent his days preparing for the end of world; a submissive mother who was blind to her children's hurt, five brothers and a sister....one brother so threateningly scary at times, I could hardly believe what he was doing or what I was reading.

Tara's story is one of courage, strength, and struggle as a child and as a young woman. To have endured the ridiculous demands and beliefs of her father, the humiliation....the verbal abuse....all while trying decipher truth from fiction....and educate herself amidst her life of chaos was a remarkable feat. And OMGOSH!....the accidents....the accidents....the accidents!

EDUCATED is powerful, shocking, and noteworthy debut....an unforgettable memoir.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC COMING FEBRUARY 20, 2018 in exchange for an unbiased review.

I loved the first person narrative of this book. It read like a novel and grabbed me by the heart as well as the throat! It is a very compelling look at a different part of American culture, one that seems far removed from my own world. This is great reading for anyone interested in how other people grow up who want to explore the growth of memory and how one can color and change things to help them understand and survive their life.

This book is so gripping- and so sad- in its depiction of characters, events and tragedies within that at times you have to stop and remind yourself that somebody actually lived it.
As a life story, it’s inspiring: the book, written by Tara Westover, details her childhood growing up in remote Idaho, the child of two dedicated Mormons, as she makes the transition from homeschooled girl to a woman who recently completed a PhD at Cambridge University.
When you read what Tara’s childhood was like, that makes her journey even more amazing. After a bit of Googling I found out she was born in 1986, but the life she’s describing sounds like one from the 1930s. Her father was obsessed with the End of Days, and when he wasn’t hoarding food and petrol for the time when society would collapse he was forcing his children to work in his junkyard (which no end of accidents result from) and forbidding the family to go to hospital, see doctors, take dancing lessons or even mix with people outside their circle.
The result was a chaotic childhood, which I was totally gripped by. Westover has a great writing style, and she describes her childhood in a matter-of-fact way that lets you see the child she was, and how traumatising it was for her. From her family crashing the car multiple times to her father literally setting himself on fire, the things that happened to the Westovers literally boggles belief- as did their hugely strict faith, which perhaps encouraged it.
The heart of the book, though, lies in Tara’s attempts to find herself in an increasingly-stifling family unit, and the effect it has on her familial relationships as a result. Watching her struggle to accept her abusive older brother and indifferent parents is an incredibly painful read, and one of those moments where you’re acutely aware that this happened to a real person. Westover describes her family with great tenderness, shading over into nostalgia- and sometimes you want to shake her for it. But watching her find her wings and break free from that family is uplifting, and in the end the book ends on a tender note.
Overall, then, this book is at times bleak, sad, uplifting and interesting: you get the feeling that this is a from-the-heart confession from an extraordinary woman, and though sometimes it can be galling, it is ultimately a fascinating read.

This true story tugs at the reader's heart. Weaving the tale of the family in the woods and one girl's journey, the reader is taken on an adventure. As an educator I was shocked to learn about this families views on public education and I loved that the author got herself out of that situation and pursued a higher education.

What an accomplished novel: superb execution, raw unflinching dialogue, impressive character descriptions,and unrelenting tension. I am not sure there is going to be a better memoir in all of 2018. In Westover's searing novel, and I can't use hyperbole enough, she discusses her Mormon survivalist's family who refuse to vaccinate their 7 children, send them to public schools, or participate in anything that looks like an arm of the government. The children all have to help on the farm working with heavy machinery, scrapping for parts and enduring pain from accidents- the latter being the Lord's will. Early in Tara's life, her mother becomes a midwife and then develops oils and herb infusions to treat mishaps, as doctors and hospitals were mostly verboten. As the children were rarely exposed to others their age, they had no other frame of reference to know that their way of life was not the norm. Violence between one of the brothers and the author was downright scary, more so as the parents defended his actions and looked the other way. The story continues to unfold as Mary begins to find a sense of self, learning to read and write, going on to college and even securing a prestigious Gates scholarship. When one views the trajectory of her insular life to her final accomplishments, one can only shake his/her head in disbelief. From beginning to end this is a riveting, unwavering look at the power of family to define identity, and to explore the determinants of breaking free from deleterious bonds.Settle in and be prepared to be swept off your feet with this austere desolate novel that will scorch and penetrate your soul...and don't forget concurrently to be amazed!

This wasn't what I expected, and for the first third I wasn't even sure I wanted to keep reading.

But I did. And then I couldn't stop, reading long into the night, long past when I should have been sleeping, struggling for breath as the story unfolded, both wildly outside my experience and yet relatable.

That the author is alive at all is astounding. That she's remade herself into what she is now is nothing short of a miracle.

A well-written, absolutely fascinating memoir of a girl raised and homeschooled in the mountains of Idaho by her fundamentalist Mormon family and her struggles to be "Educated."

I was inspired by the grit of Tara Westover in this book. Coming from a family raised to shun the formal education system, Tara sets an example that you can achieve a lot if you set your mind to it.. Truly wonderful and inspiring.

This book is a heart wrenching tale of family, identity, separation, loss, and strength. The fact that the author was raised in a junkyard and ended up getting a doctorate is a testament to her clarity of mind, self-awareness, and strong sense of purpose gained partly from her junkyard life but more so from her intelligence and discernment. I was most impressed by the consistency of the voice in this book. It was such a great retelling of a dangerous and unique childhood. She also treats the topic of Mormonism with great respect, even though her father is a fanatic. As a BYU grad and a woman who spent many summers in the mountains of Idaho with my NRA-capped grandpa, this book resonated with me, and I just devoured every well-crafted word. Amazing.

Tara Westover was raised in a strict Mormon household by her herbalist mother and scrapyard owner father. Her overbearing father has a distrust of the government, education and conventional medicine and the Westover children are all home schooled, which in reality meant working in the family businesses, either facing the daily danger of the scrapyard or helping their mother as the self appointed (untrained) local midwife and herbalist. This book was an eye opening look at an uncoventional upbringing. Now at a distance from the family Tara, can recognise the violence, danger and suspected mental illness that she endured during her family life as a child and young adult. This book is so incredibly well written, you can feel the pull back that the author feels to her family, even as she realises their destructive relationships. An inspirational true story, we follow Tara on a path of self education as she ends up studying for a PHD at Cambridge, but also as she comes to terms emotionally with the scars left by her family. I will be recommending this powerful book to everyone I know and I can’t wait to read it again. Thanks NetGalley and Random House!

Really interesting memoir, and well written. At times, this memoir was truly painful to read. Growing up in an isolated, fundamentalist Mormon home, Tara Westover struggles to find her sense of self in an atmosphere that is controlled, bizarre, and at times - frightening. Westover's father was distrustful of the government, and many of his children grew up without birth certificates, vaccines, any type of medical treatment, schooling, and other trappings of what we call a "normal" life. The life described in this book was not the Mormonism I was familiar with, and it was jolting to hear about the lifestyle of Tara and her family. Even more disturbing is the way her father put her and her siblings in harms way scavenging in the family junk yard. Everything was rationalized by God - even the abuse that Tara and her siblings suffered at the hands of her brother Shawn. Reading the scenes of physical abuse, being held inside a toilet bow until Tara would call herself a whore - how did this woman ever come to grips with this? The fact that she did persevere, would not let her memories be rewritten, and how she doggedly pursued her education is an inspiration to all. A very unique read.

Author Tara Westover first went to school at the age of 17 much to the dismay of her survivalist parents. Prior to that she never attended school: college would be her first experience with formal education. Not only was going to college a way to get an education, but it also served as an escape from an turbulent family life.

Westover would grapple with being away at school and not being an obedient daughter; she felt the constant pull towards home and sought its acceptance. Even during very unhealthy times she still could not release her home life’s hold on her: to which she couldn’t fully emerge herself in to her new surroundings. It would be a long journey until Westover would embrace her own understandings of the world around her and not the ones her family decided for her.

Educated by Tara Westover was a profound read. Reading Tara’s story we learn of all the adversities she experienced in youth and she still went on to gain an education at the age of 17. Over the next decade she would go on to earn a PhD.

I can’t think of words to do her story justice. I am thankful she let us in on her life: her resilience is inspiring.

Her story teaches you to reflect and seek out experiences whether through reading, socializing, traveling, what have you. That life and being curious should not be taken for granted.

I truly hope Tara’s story is heard around the world and that she achieves critical acclaim. I will be shouting my recommendation from the rooftops for all to hear!

A stunning and wonderful book. I’m a frequent reader of memoirs by those who grow up within strict fundamentalist and/or dysfunctional families, and, like many, this was very horrifying/heartbreaking/inspiring. But Westover writes exceptionally well, and the intellectual depth both of her writing and of her analysis/understanding of her experiences makes it one of my favorite memoirs of its kind, and in general one of the best memoirs I’ve ever read.

I cannot recommend this memoir highly enough. Not since The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls has a true story gripped me, challenged my thinking, and changed my perspective like Tara Westover's first book. Raised in a strict Mormon family in the mountains of Idaho, Tara and most of her siblings were kept out of school, not to be educated at home, but to work in their father's scrap yard and their mother's homeopathic and unlicensed midwifery business. Luckily for all of us readers, Tara kept untold number of journals that detail her life: the abuse by her brother, the unending brainwashing of what world history entailed, the attempts by other brothers to break free, the utter lack of safety in her life, the horrific accidents that devastated her family, the total reliance on naturopathic curatives by her mother, and the impact on her family of her father's mental illness. And just when you think life cannot get crazier, Tara's college and graduate work takes us down another insane rabbit hole. It is a profound look at what happens when one doesn't educate a child on things we think are basic. What if a child has never heard of the Holocaust, the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King? How does this skew their view of the world? How does the world look on this child, when as an adult their questions and comments show not only ignorance, but whiffs of racism and hatred? Whose fault is it? Parent, society, the individual herself? Can a lack of education, or conversely a formal education, fundamentally change society? This is a powerful book that will completely engross you, fascinate you, and in the end, Educate you. Do not miss this book!