Breaking attachments to the only people and home you’ve ever known is hard. Even when you know you don’t have any other choice. Tara Westover knew what her future looked like if she stayed living in the shadow of Buck’s Peak in Southern Idaho. She would marry young, learn herbal healing and midwifery from her mother, and would always be under her father’s influence. When one of her five brothers leaves home to attend college, she begins to see a way out.

“It’s time to go Tara,” Tyler said. “The longer you stay, the less likely you will ever leave.” “You think I need to leave?” Tyler didn’t blink, didn’t hesitate. “I think this is the worst possible place for you.” He’d spoken softly, but it felt as though he’d shouted the words.”

Part One of Educated covers Tara’s childhood – the people and events that shaped her. She does not spare us the details of graphic abuse at the hands of one of her brothers or the horrifying injuries received by family members in accidents in the junkyard or while driving unlicensed, uninsured vehicles. Her father’s distrust of the medical establishment often prevents family members from receiving the treatment and care they need.

Tara recounts her mother’s efforts to homeschool the children and how her father subverted her efforts by grabbing the boys to work in the junkyard whenever he had the chance. Her mother eventually decides reading is the only schooling they need.

Part Two begins with Tara’s new life at Brigham Young University. Her incredible lack of knowledge about the world around her was heartbreaking. She wrestles with wanting to learn and how each new bit of knowledge contradicts what she learned from her Dad.

I was struck by her always referring to her parents as Mother and Dad. To me, Mother was always more formal and Dad makes me think of someone more loving and gentle. While neither of her parents seemed warm and fuzzy, I thought her mother showed more kindness and caring. It just strikes me as odd that a man as imposing and domineering as her father was referred to by the more lovable term.

Tara’s writing is beautiful. This is one of may favorite books so far this year and will stay with me for a very long time. She took hold of me from the very beginning with her description of the wheat fields at the base of the mountain. They made me think of the farm of my Mom’s family in Northern Idaho.

The hill is paved with wild wheat. If the conifers and sagebrush are soloists, the wheat field is a corps de ballet, each stem following all the rest in bursts of movement, a million ballerinas bending one after the other, as great gales dent their golden heads. The shape of that lasts only a moment, and is as close as anyone gets to seeing wind.”

Wow!! This book is incredible!! Tara Westover has such a way with words that she pulls you into her world immediately, and her memoir reads like a novel, without ever losing sight of the fact that Educated is real life, her real life.

Tara Westover was born into a Mormon family in Idaho, and grew up what would be considered as “off the grid”. While religion, or maybe fanaticism, are an overall part of Tara’s childhood, it’s not the main focus of the story. Tara’s father believes in stories of the Illuminati and the dangers of government involvement as well as being a fervent believer of the Mormon teachings (which I am not familiar enough with to even start talking about), and leads his family to live a very unconventional life... One where the children don’t receive a formal education in school. It’s so much more complex than this though, and as I don’t want to spoil this amazing book for anyone I will stop there with the background.

Tara’s memoir takes you back through her childhood through her own eyes. We, the readers, are 6 when she is 6, we are 12 when she is 12. We are there with her, living with her. I could literally smell the mountain air of Buck Peak, feel the snow under my feet, and the force of some of the things that she endured shook me to the core. Educated is not an easy read, there are moments when you need to put the book down and look at something pretty and sparkly, or cuddle someone you love. There are moments when I burst into tears, and others where I had to skip over a scene because I was scared how it might affect me mentally. Tara’s strength is incredible, because she went from literally having no education whatsoever to putting herself through college, then several universities. And her family dynamic is so deep and scary that your logic is telling her to run as fast as she can away from it all, but your heart understands what pulls her back.

Educated will be released on February 20th through Random House and I recommend getting it as soon as you can. I think it’s going to be on my mind for a very long time.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance galley!

Fascinating, horrifying, inspiring and sad. I ran through the gamut of emotions reading Tara's story. I'm looking forward to recommending it to library patrons.

Tara Westover has had a life like no other. She grew up with a father, struggling with mental illness and a mother who ignored her children's pain.

Tara's life is the story of courage and struggle and ultimately the strength to do it on your own and be who you are.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this compelling story.

I nearly judged this book by its cover and almost passed it by. I'm so glad that I gave it a second look; and as it turns, the US cover that I wasn't so crazy about it absolutely perfect for this book. This memoir will draw inevitable comparisons to The Glass Castle and Hillbilly Elegy, and while it does bear some surface similarities to those books, it is truly in a class of its own. The obstacles that Tara Westover faced and overcame to get Educated-both in the traditional sense of the word as well as educated about herself and the world far outside of the insular place into which she was born, are astounding. Highly recommend.

I got lost in this story and loved the how education can shape or flatten your world.

This wonderful book made me think about our “self”, how much we owe our families in becoming who we are, what would happen if we lost that support too soon. Tara’s family is far from being perfect, I would say even dangerously neglectful and inconsiderate, living by the rules of a bipolar father/ prophet and a herbalist / chakra healer mother, ignoring common sense (like sending children to school, or seeking medical help), but it’s still her family, she didn’t know better. You could say everything happens for a reason, it’s God’s will – like Gene Westover says - , yet, could it be God’s will to be abused by your older, manipulative, psychopath brother and your parents to side with him? And because you don’t accept recanting your story (because a woman’s story, even of an educated one, means nothing), to be shunned. At first I was appalled by Tara’s breakdown, her regret for not being 16 again and accepting to be re-moulded, to become her mother. Then, I admired her strength to pick up the pieces and reconstruct herself (it must be very terrifying not to have a support system, not to have someone to share your joys and sorrows with), to raise above all this and consider it an education. Life is the best teacher.

I could not put this book down. The writing was so compelling, her struggle to break free from such an unhealthy life and to realize she had choices and abilities, I cannot imagine surviving through such circumstances as she did. An inspiring life.

Educated documents the life of Tara Westover who raised by survivalist parents in Idaho but went on earn a PhD in history from Cambridge in 2014.  Her parents were steeped in the Mormon faith and believed that their lives were much better without depending on the government and its mechanisms.  Hence, Tara spent her childhood being homeschooled by her mum who is a self-taught midwife and worked with her father and her siblings in their junkyard and construction business. As a teenager, she realised that was possible to go school without necessarily compromising her beliefs when one of her brothers gets accepted to a prestigious university. She decided to take her chances despite her father's disdain. We then get to follow her in readjustment journey in university until she earns her doctorate degree.


Throughout the book, I was engaged and was eager to learn about her journey and her she was able to reconcile her faith and her new world. Readers will see her personal growth and empathise with her difficult decisions that her loved ones for her own wellbeing.  Educated will make the reader reflect their faith and its impact on their lives and where to draw the line with religious extremism especially against the backdrop of today's world of  "conspicuous" consumption and technology overdependence.


I believe finally, that education must be conceived as a continuing reconstruction of experience; that the process and the goal of education are one and the same thing. - John Dewey.


Educated is definitely a worthwhile read for anyone who would want to read outside to seek to understand a person of a different religion and how it affects their everyday life. This book has already garnered a lot of recognition from various outlets including Entertainment Weekly Most Anticipated Books of 2018, it would be a good one to keep on your radar.

This is a powerful memoir. Very well written with the objectivity of a woman who has processed her experiences and made her peace with the girl she was and the woman she is. Tara's childhood was filled with violence and extremist ideology. Her father faithfully read his scriptures and made interpretations that were extreme. He built a more strict religion than his Mormon neighbors yet continued to move the goal posts to fit his mood.

This is not a book about Mormonism. This the movement of one girl breaking free of the internal and external restraints that held her hostage. She gives a fair and balanced account of members in her family. None are cast as completely villainous or saintly. Yet the underlying current is that the home was ruled by a controlling father, deeply troubled by multiple mental illnesses left untreated and unchecked. Bipolar, paranoid, violent and, at times, psychotic, he preached anti-establishment, anti-government, and end of the world.

Additionally, the author experiences a complicated, contradictive relationship with an older brother that switched quickly from protector to violent protagonist. There is a parallel of sorts between the brother and the father. Both are capable of horrific abuse and neglect yet also of deep love. Neither are mentally stable yet the people surrounding them allow their reality to dictate their own existence. It is an extreme example of group gaslighting to the point that the sane questions his or her sanity.

In the same valley 65 years earlier, my dad stood and stretched his back after thinning sugar beets. In a moment of clarity, he saw his life if he stayed complacent; thinning sugar beets, hungry and poor. He quit that day and announced he was going to college. Without support or money, he worked whatever jobs he could get, joined ROTC, and eventually earned a Ph.D.

What the author so beautifully illustrates through her words is how she gained freedom through education, self analysis through historians and therapy, and how her journey, although still continuing, is one that she chooses and can enjoy.

This is one of the most harrowing books I have read. Every child should be protected by their parents and family. In many families, where mental illness is involved, this definitely doesn't happen. I was expecting to be dismayed by children not being educated, but this was so much more than that. I admire Ms. Westover for presenting her story so clearly and honestly. This must have been difficult to write. It was certainly difficult to read.

A heart wrenching memoir. The description for this book said “in the tradition of The Glass Castle” and while that is true on the basic level, it is so much more. This is the story of a young woman’s life and eventual triumph over her background and the way she was raised. When I started the book I was quickly brought into the constant tragedy that was Tara’s early life – and then it hit me. She was not writing about a third world country or even a long time ago – she was writing about here in the United States and she is just a little older than my children. This was all happening while I was happily sending my kids to school.
Tara and her siblings grew up with survivalist parents in the mountains of Idaho. Not only were they not educated in a school system, there was also no structured home school system nor did they ever see medical professionals. While Tara attempts to enter a difference world, the constant pull of family first holds her back in so many ways. This book immersed me in Tara’s world and at times I needed to set it aside to allow myself some emotional breathing room before I was ready to read some more.
The only thing I did not enjoy about the book is the cover. At first glance, and with the title, I assumed incorrectly that is was an education resource book.

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Random House, and Dr Tara Westover for the opportunity to read and review this memoir - amazing.

This is a difficult book to read but an absolute amazing portrait of someone who was able to rise from the ashes of their family life and create a new, healthy life.

Tara was raised in Idaho by religious fanatical parents. They were Mormon but so far off from even that religion. The father did not believe in government interference of any kind - so no medical treatment, no public school, no birth certificates, driver's licenses, insurance - the list goes on. The mother was into homeopathic treatments - midwifery, essential oils - and had her own mind somewhere but still followed her husband's rules, including ignoring all of the abuse heaped on her and her sister by her brother.

This is a difficult book to read - the descriptions of the brother's abuse as well as what the father made his children do are not for the faint of heart. But what is amazing is that Tara is able to go on to get her PhD after never having set one foot in school!

I found myself so grateful to my parents for all the "normalness" I experienced - school, books, cleanliness. Amazing story!!

This memoir opened my eyes to an oft-unseen way of life. It was at times uncomfortable to get through but I think it's a necessary read nonetheless. It clearly emphasizes the importance of education and an open-minded approach to life, but it also demonstrates how complicated it can be to disentangle yourself from less-than-perfect situations - especially when they involve family that you love despite their flaws. I appreciated Tara’s viewpoint and courage in telling her story, and ultimately, it left me inspired. I think it would make an excellent book club choice.

A really intriguing memoir of growing up outside the system. After years of abuse and neglect, the author finally finds the strength to stand up to her father and attend college.

I have a tremendous respect for the courage it took Tara Westover to go against her "doomsday/conspiracy theorist" father who was a physical and psychological bully to her and the rest of her siblings and mother. This memoir was well-paced and easy to read. I'd definitely recommend this to readers who enjoyed memoirs like The Glass Castle.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-arc to review.

Where on earth did Tara find the strength and will to survive and grow as she did? I am sure it is true that some excel because of their background and some in spite of it. While I know not everyone could emerge as she did, her story will no doubt give encouragement and hope to others whose life may seem entirely hopeless. In time Tara was able to separate herself somewhat from her family physically. It was much harder for her to distance herself from them emotionally. Our parents have a very strong influence on us and Tara suffered with that, not being able even to tell others about her background. Therefore, she had no friends and no real relationships. She was not able to talk of her background for a long time. This is indeed a very powerful story!

This was a heartwarming story about a young girl who has a lot of courage and ambition. Tara Westover was one of seven children born into a very dysfunctional Morman family. The children were somewhat home schooled, but basically they were put to work by their father. They were made to work in very dangerous situations by their dad who was mentally unstable. Her mother, at the beginning was a little protective, but by the end of the book that had all changed. Tara realizes that in order to escape her life she has to go to college. So she studies for ACT and on her second try she gets a score to get her into Brigham Young University.

This book has all the ranges of emotions. At time you laugh at others you are sad and often I found myself angry at all of them. This girl worked hard and against overwhelming odds made an astonishing education for herself. This book is highly recommendable.