People like Tara Westover, author of "Educated: A Memoir," vividly remind us all about the innate potential in people and the indomitable human spirit. In this powerful and emotion-filled book, Tara explains what it was like to not only survive her unusual upbringing but to thrive in a way that was inconceivable to her younger self.

Raised by survivalist, conspiracy-theorist parents in rural Idaho, Tara never visited a doctor or attended school. She suffered direct abuse from her older brother and in some instances neglect from her parents. Believing there was more to life than what was offered to her on her family's mountain, Tara embarked on a course of self-study to take the ACT and was admitted to Brigham Young University. She attended, in spite of her father's warning that the school was too liberal (!) Away from her family for the first time, Tara discovered just how much she didn't know and learned that much of what she had been told by her parents simply wasn't true. She continued her education -- eventually studying at both Oxford and Harvard.

Aside from her outward journey from Idaho to Utah and then the U.K. and beyond, Tara shares her inward journey. Where and how does she fit into her family? Can they accept her as she is -- and will they accept the truth she tries to get them to acknowledge?

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, what a wonderful read! This book is definitely going to be shortlisted for many book prizes, along with Goodreads Choice Awards, for sure. Yes, this book is so good and so important.

I can't give you enough reasons as to why you should read this book, but nevertheless here are the 5 reasons as to why you should read this :D

1. An unimaginable and horrific story 
Tara Westover, along with her other siblings was not allowed to go to school because their father thought that it is the government's scheme to impose its rules and it is against God's wish. She had a family who was obedient to her father. No one was able to say or do anything against his will. They took every word of his as divine and the final truth. He led them to believe that the world is going to end soon and asked them to prepare for "end of the world". This whole story was really unimaginable that still, such families exist. It was horrific to read all the encounters of that family, to read about their thinking. At one point it literally shook me and I was kind of afraid to know her story.

2. Engrossing and amazing storytelling of one's own experience 
Tara Westover has done an incredible job of telling such a horrific personal story. I can't imagine myself telling the world my story if it was so.. disturbing? But Tara has done a brilliant job. With the easy words and easy narratives, you would find yourself totally engrossed in her story. She will take you to the mountains of Idaho and will make you feel how old that whole of her world is, though it's too contemporary outside those mountains.

3. Importance of Education and its relevance 
As the title suggests, the story is about education and how it transforms you. I recently wrote a post on women's day saying that how education is important for all. I guess, this book exactly proves that. Tara believed in lies that she was told throughout her life. It was her education that helped her to travel across continents and make her able to see the truth behind those lies. It was the education which made her capable of thinking about her life outside those mountains of Idaho.

4. How a family can make you what you are 
Besides everything else, this story is about family and how it can affect your life on the whole. If you have a good family with good education then you can almost certain to have a nice life. But what if your family is screwed up and believe in something crazy? It is definitely hard to imagine all the things that Tara and her siblings went through in that family. If a family can make your life and future good, it can equally destroy it.

5. Includes every aspect of a story you can think of 
This story has everything. Even if you don't read non-fiction normally, you would be captivated by the number of things that this story includes. It talks about blind beliefs, gender discrimination, physical abuse, religion, race, mental health, self-discovery and what not. You name any other aspect of life, it was there.

Final Thoughts
Educated by Tara Westover is an unthinkable tale of how education changes you and gives you courage to even cross the oceans and to achieve your dreams. This story is so difficult to read because of the things that it is covering, but it is also difficult to put down. This is not like a typical memoir but has a story to deliver. It has been told, as it is, with all the ugly details of her family but still beautiful. This story definitely deserves more recognition.

Whether you are a nonfiction reader or not, I urge you to read this. I am sure it will make a huge impact on your life.

I had read a review of this book and was interested in it.  I was absolutely thrilled when I was approved to review it through Netgalley.  Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the honoring of being allowed to read this book for free in exchange for a fair review.

Tara's story of a family working together in a small town and surviving hardships and health crises reminded me of "Little House on the Prairie" if Pa Ingalls was a sadistic maniac.  Like the Ingalls, the Westovers lived an isolated life but were deeply bonded as a family.  Unlike Pa Ingalls, the Westover family's hardships were all caused by Mr. Westover's capricious, irresponsible actions.  

I was completely engaged in this unbelievable story.  Tara is a terrific storyteller and her story is unique and worth reading.  I learned about scrapyards, Mormonism, and higher education.  I can not fathom how Tara survived and eventually thrived in the environment she was born into.

Although Tara received no formal education she now has a PHD from Harvard.  This is absolutely amazing.  I have huge respect for her.

The author, Tara, was raised in the middle of nowhere in Idaho.  She never went to school and wasn't even home schooled.  She never saw a doctor even though she broke bones and had fevers and infections.  Tara's desire to learn about the world outside her secluded mountain home propels her to defy her family, friends, and town to try to get into college without even graduating high school.  Her tenacity to teach herself algebra and science was truly enlightening.   This was truly an inspirational book about how if you set your mind on something, even if it seems impossible and everything and everyone is against you, it can be done.  I have several teacher friends that have read this book but i think it would also be a great read for high school students or anyone thinking about going to college.

I can’t even put into words how captivating this book is. Tara is an incredible writer who pulls you into her world. Some of the events/tragedies she encounters are so extreme it left me questioning whether it was real life or not. The book is a memoir, but at times it is hard to believe some people grow up the way Tara did. My brain convinced me that Tara must have grown up decades ago, so I also started to do the math. Tara was actually born the same year as me, so I began to compare my cookie cutter childhood with her trials and tribulations. The differences were shocking. Tara was one of seven children born to strict Mormon parents which it is safe to say were extremists with manic tendencies. Her father in particular had extreme bouts of paranoia and was constantly preparing for the end of the world. Tara’s parents are anti government and very much against modern medicine. Horribly tragic accidents occur in her family and going to the hospital is taboo. For example, her brother cracks his head open in a motorcycle accident and Tara could see brain matter. Her parents said to drive him home and not go to the hospital because doctors only make you sicker so they can continue to treat you. She also has an extremely abusive brother who hurts her to the point of broken bones and she laughs it off so outsiders think it is a game. Her parents then tell she she imagined it all. Tara finally breaks away from this extreme lifestyle by studying to pass the ACT after no schooling. The memoir continues to juxtapose her childhood and college years. This was one of the best books I have read and I highly recommend it. I truly hope Tara continues to write more!

I received a free ARC from Goodreads and Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I have three things to say about this book:

1. You HAVE to read it. 

2. Believe the hype around this book.

3. This book will take you on an emotional journey but it is a journey you will love. 

This is a well written memoir about Tara Westover's struggle to get educated. Westover grew up in the mountains of Idaho with her parents and six siblings. They were taught not to trust the Government, doctors, and hospitals- most importantly they were "home schooled". Her parents are devout Mormons but do not let that fact side track what this book is actually about. 

I don't like to compare books but I have to say, this book reminds me a whole lot of "The Glass Castle". I remember having the SAME emotions while reading Educated as I did when reading The Glass Castle. I felt so defeated, sad, enraged, I honestly felt rage for Westover and the number of things she had to overcome. It takes strength and courage to tell a story such as this, I remember crying at some points of this book because I was so shaken by Westover's experience. 

I have to much to say about this book, there are so many things to discuss but I don't have the words. Just know, this is a MUST READ.

This is a memoir about a girl raised in a family whose beliefs and lifestyles shaped and almost destroyed her life. Tara pulled herself out of a "survivalist family" with very different views on school, doctors, clothing, etc. She was raised in this environment with her six siblings who worked for their father, lacking in traditional education. Tara decides to get herself out of the situation and enrolls in an university until she eventually gets her doctorate.  Tara to me is a remarkable person and this shows a glimpse into resilience. It is truly remarkable that she not only lived through the things she endured but found a way out of them to better her life and her self. 
This book was at times really hard to read but also really difficult to put down. I really loved it and felt her story telling was remarkable. Her perseverance and her ability to write it all down and share it is amazing. I would recommend this book definitely but go into it knowing some parts are hard to read! Completely worth it in my mind!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book - all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book is magnificent - there is no other word to describe this book.  I can say honestly, this book blew all my expectations completely out of the water.  Tara writes with such frank, brutal honesty, but in such a beautifully descriptive manner, I genuinely felt like I was there, experiencing her story along with her.

Tara grew up in a family of devout Mormon survivalists, living  in the mountains of Idaho and spending her life preparing for the end of the world, creating herbal remedies with her mother and working along her brothers in her father's scrapyard.  Tara's father forbade them to attend public schools or see doctors and hospitals for medical treatment, meaning that Tara and her family lived sheltered, complex lives on the mountains, isolated from the realities of the outside world.

Having never set foot in a classroom, at seventeen Tara decides to pursue formal schooling, getting accepted to Brigham Young University and for the first time in her life, leaving the mountain and the only life she ever knew.

This is a story of finding your way in a world that you don't understand, and finding yourself even when it means leaving behind everything you ever thought you knew.  This book is stunning, horrific, inspiring and heartbreaking in equal measure.  Parts were incredibly difficult to read, but the book is impossible to put down.  This book is everything a memoir should be - and I am grateful to Tara for having the courage to share her story with the world.  

Educated will be on my Top Reads of 2018 without question.  I can not recommend this book enough.  Get a copy today - you will not be disappointed.

I honestly did not know what to expect when I started this one - I kept hearing buzz about it and decided to join in on a buddy read of it. To say I was blown away by this does not come close to describing what a roller coaster this was!

The author was born and raised on a mountainside in Idaho by Mormon parents, which in itself would have been a fascinating upbringing. Add into the mix a family plagued by violence, mental illness and a belief in the end-of-days and what develops in Tara’s memoir seems inconceivable. She never attended formal schooling, but has since gone on to graduate from Harvard and Cambridge. It is just incredible! The adversities she faced and the successes she has achieved in her short life so far are a testament to what a strong woman Tara is.

I’ve been recommending this book to friends who enjoyed Hillbilly Elegy and The Great Alone - but really, I think everyone should pick it up!

The author overcame a devastating upbringing in a violent, incoherent, blisteringly-obtuse household, where at least three members had untreated brain damage from automobile accidents , and at least two suffered horrific burns. She lived through it, taught herself enough to get into BYU despite not having attended school (because, her father said, schools are tools of the Illuminati), and ended up with a Ph. D. from Cambridge. Periodically, she returns to her family home near an Idaho mountain, endures more abuse, and goes back to school with a crushing sense of guilt. 
I finished the book only because I had requested it from NetGalley. The author admits that severe domestic violence continues to occur in and around her parents' house, and I do not understand why the now-more-worldly author does not report it and get the children out of that environment.
Honestly, as I wrote to the publisher, it should come with a trigger warning. Expect nightmares.

This is an exceptionally written book. I found the first few pages hard going as I got into the setting but once I had it, it was hard to put the book down. 

Although the author is only a few years older than me, I kept having to remind myself that the story I was reading wasn't set in the '30s or '40s but actually the '00s. Being from Ireland, this setting was completely alien to me. I know next to nothing about Mormonism or even what Idaho and middle America is like at all. 

The author's upbringing was haunting to me. From her father's radical beliefs and misogynistic tendencies to his blatant disregard for the wellbeing of his family. 

I would recommend this book to basically everyone, it was eye-opening and fascinating. It's hard to imagine sometimes all the different worlds we live in around the world. It's good to be reminded. 

A great read, I feel, well...educated!

Really enjoyed the transparency of this book. Very interesting to see how the beliefs of adults really affect and infiltrate the belief systems of their children. Also how the children believe that their lives are normal when they are secluded from the outside world. It is amazing to read how this young woman was able to rise above the lunacy of her family life to achieve all that she did, although is was not an easy task at all. Bravo for her for trying to break that cycle of craziness. Highly recommend!!

I enjoyed reading this book. She is an intelligent woman who overcame many obstacles to become the woman she is now.  I was amazed at all she went through.  Thank you Tara for sharing your heartache and triumph with us. What an inspiration.

I received an ARC of "EDUCATED" from NetGalley for an honest review. I wish to thank NetGalley, Random House, and Tara Westover for the opportunity to read this book.

I'll just cut to the chase and say that this has been the BEST book of 2018 for me. That is saying a lot as it is ONLY March 2018!!

The book hooked me from the start and reeled me in more and more as the book progressed. This debut autobiographical book is an AMAZING story of a young woman who was trapped by a dysfunctional, fundamentalist Mormon family who changes her life through education. Honestly, this is the way that we can save children especially girls, young women, and mothers throughout the world - EDUCATION!!

This author writes so beautifully and vividly that I felt that I was seeing each scene through her eyes and that I could use all of my five senses to FEEL how the entire atmosphere was. This book SO needs to be a MOVIE!!

Please READ this book - it is beyond sensational!! HIGHLY recommend!!

I have been going back and forth with my star rating. I finished the book early this morning and have been trying to get my thoughts together. I’m still waffling on my actual star rating. I think it’s more of a 3.5 but I will tell you why I’m rounding up later. 

This book is being praised in the same vein as The Glass Castle and I’m not sure I agree. I loved The Glass Castle and while similar, they are very different. The abuse, and lets be very honest here it’s abuse, is quite hard to read. I cannot imagine my brother purposefully breaking my wrist or putting my head in a toilet. And my parents just idly watching it happen and saying it must be evil possessing me, oh hell no. 

Even if the things that happened aren’t 100% accurate, these are her memories, this is Tara’s memoir. And who gets to tell her story??? She does, it’s hers to tell, it was hers to live through, it’s her memories in her head. As a parent myself, I cannot imagine letting that kind of world exist for my children. 

The writing is fantastic. She has a PhD for a reason. She attended Cambridge for a reason. Tara writes with a passion in her words that I’m not sure even she realizes. 

So why the 3 stars? I liked it but it was not enjoyable to read. It was rough, the abuse, the religious extremism, the danger, the “education”, the lack of care, and the lack of familial love, was really draining on me. It sucked every bit of happiness out of me. I kept reading because I needed to make sure that Tara wound up ok in the end. I knew she must have since she wrote a book but dang, to live through that life and not have more emotional and physical scars as she does, is lucky. Clearly she is very well educated now and that’s why the bump in stars happened. Story was a solid 3 because it was just hard to read but the writing was a 4.5. 

One of the most poignant moments in the book for me was when she was in the western civ course in her first semester and she didn’t know the word Holocoust. Tara didn’t know that word. The class thought she was making a bad joke. But she truly didn’t know what it meant. She went from zero education to a PhD at a monumental speed. To me, that alone was worthy of admiration. 

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for allowing me to read this. Thank you Tara for sharing what I’m sure was one crazy upbringing with the world. You have gumption in spades my dear and I tip my hat to you.

Tara Westover grew up on Buck Peak, isolated from the "mainstream" world that her dad didn't trust.  She and her older siblings didn't attend school and the youngest four didn't even have birth certificates until years after their birth.  Both government and the medical field were shunned and considered an abomination of God's perfect plan for true believers.
The Westover clan considered themselves survivalists, storing thousands of gallons of fuel and canning thousands of jars of food for the impending end of days.
We read intense descriptions of reckless behavior fueled by paranoia and suspicion that led to countless car accidents, burns, head injuries, and various other near death experiences in the family.  There was also a lot of physical and mental abuse that was ignored and eventually denied by most of the family.
Tara is accepted to BYU at 17 and realizes how sheltered she has been from the world when she learns about events like the Holocaust and Civil Rights Movement for the first time.  While learning history, she begins to question her own.
On the road to her PHd, Tara finds herself in a battle to prove devotion to her family while trying to understand the underlying mental illness at play and step outside a long played game of manipulation.
A raw and powerful story of coming of age and family bonds, about owning our personal history but refusing to let it define us.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing an uncorrected proof for review after publication.

It took me a little while to get into this book, but around the time Tara went to college, I was COMPLETELY hooked and finished it in less than a day. This story was absolutely incredible and read like fiction. The writing was phenomenal, the story was part shocking, part horrifying, part inspiring, part sad, and part hopeful. I highly encourage everyone to read this book because it will change your perspective on life in a way you might not be expecting.

I rarely can't decide between 4 and 5 stars, so I'd call this a solid 4.5, even though I keep going back and forth. Tara Westover has had an amazing, unbelievable life full of pain and heartbreak and delusions and abuse. yet, she manages to break away from her fundamentalist/crazy Mormon family and make her own way in the world, against all odds. This memoir reads less like history and more like a novelization of a terrible childhood shot through with hope, which makes it all the more compelling every time you remember that she lived this life along with her six older siblings. Highly recommended for fans of Glass Castle, Sound of Gravel, or my fellow homeschool moms who need a "you're doing okay" reminder, because, whatever you're teaching them, it's more than Tara learned at home, and she turned out!

Wow. This book is incredible. I knew from the first few pages that I was going to love it and I'm glad I did. I've never read a memoir like this before and her words flow so effortlessly that I had to keep reminding myself "this is not fiction, everything that has happened here is real, it's all real." Her way with words, with detailing the scenery, with expressing her emotions is beautiful.

I think the synopsis of the book explains the book so well. It's about a girl -Tara- who is born in Idaho to survivalist parents; which basically means they think the world will end soon, everyone needs to be saved by religion, everyone needs to stock up on food and guns and build a bomb shell, as well as taking it to the extreme and not believing in any government services such as schools or hospitals no matter what nor being friends with anyone who doesn't adhere to the same principles.   

Tara and her siblings grew up working in a junkyard and being homeschooled briefly until it all stopped. When she reaches seventeen and starts getting an eduction like everyone else, she is shocked at how ignorant she is. A lot happens in this book discussing her relationship with her parents, her siblings, the abuse that goes on and how strong religion is in dictating everything. It shows how growing up in such a family no matter how dysfunctional it could be, sometimes creates such a strong family bond that one could find it hard to let go of. Everything she has learned in our household, especially regarding religion, has such a strong hold on her that even as we read about her growing up this inner dilemma persist and is still as strong.

I guess this book shows how it's hard to let go of your family sometimes no matter what is going on, how letting go of all the brainwashing that has been fed to you since you were a child is not as easy as it seems, especially if it has anything to do with religion and how sometimes one needs to put their self and their dreams above everyone else and it isn't as selfish as people try to make us believe. And most importantly, this book shows how education is important. Not just in regards to moving from ones place to a better place or to a better social class, but the ignorance that one can be consumed by, not hearing any other sides to the story or believing the version they know is the only correct version of the story.

I can honestly go on and on talking about this book. There's so much you pick out and discuss. This memoir while written by Tara is still going through all of this. There is no ending to the book. We don't know what happened with her family. We get a small glimpse into her future life but not much. And for a book to be so heavily invested in her parents and siblings, I naturally am so curious and nosy to know what has happened, is she ok, is everyone ok, did she come to terms with everything that has happened and with her parents, is she living happily. It's a good thing that even though the story has ended, I can still watch her interviews on youtube.

When hearing a book described as a memoir, the thought that follows usually includes some semblance of “a personal reflection of a life over time.” Tara Westover, at a mere 31 years old, makes her book debut with a quite superlative memoir. Educated follows Westover’s upbringing as part of a survivalist family, through her questioning and outgrowth of her fundamentalist origin, and to her breakaway to self-confidence through higher learning.

Tara Westover was raised as one of seven siblings in a tiny Idaho town at the base of a mountain. Her father was paranoid about crossing paths with the government, and actively prepared for the “Days of Abomination” believing that the world would end at the turn of the century. Westover’s mother was a midwife and herbalist who was raised in a “normally functioning” home, but now largely supported her husband in silence for the best of her children. Westover received no formal education as a child, was never vaccinated, and to this day, doesn’t know her exact birth date – she wasn’t issued a birth certificate until she was nine years old.

As Westover grew up, she and her family saw head injuries, falls from the tops of mechanical equipment, motorcycle accidents and burns from explosions, and perceived all as God’s will. Westover had strained relationships with her parents and with one of her older brothers because of tempers, pride, and even mental sickness; it’s her broken family system with which Westover eventually struggles to reconcile. When Westover begins to see the possibility of a different life from her upbringing, she takes it upon herself to self-teach, and gains acceptance to Brigham Young University. Ten years later, she completes her doctorate in history at Cambridge University.

In addition to expertly writing a clear and fluid narrative, Westover effectively crafts noticeably strong chapter beginnings and endings. At a chapter’s end, the reader is continuously compelled to read into the next chapter, if even just a few lines of the first paragraph, before closing the book until the next opportunity to sit and read. Westover fully immerses her readers with vivid descriptions of not only her physical environment, but also her emotional environment.

Through Educated, Tara Westover communicates an important truth that is allowance for self-accomplishment through selfhood. “You could call this selfhood many things. Transformation. Metamorphosis. Falsity. Betrayal. I call it an education.”