Educated: A Memoir - Softcover

Advance praise for Educated

"Powerful, moving, brave in its revelation of profound humiliations naked and completely at home in its form."--Mona Simpson, author of Casebook and Anywhere But Here

"A punch to the gut, a slow burn, a savage indictment, a love letter."--Claire Dederer, New York Times bestselling author of Love and Trouble

"Powerful, moving, brave, naked and completely at home in its form, Tara Westover's Educated gives us homegrown American originals, who find their Mormon congregation too conventional, and raise their children on a western mountain, refusing them birth certificates and not allowing them to attend school. This is a daughter's story of how she grew into herself and comes to understand her home. This book would be far less harrowing if it were a novel."--Mona Simpson, author of Casebook and Anywhere But Here

"A punch to the gut, a slow burn, a savage indictment, a love letter: Educated somehow contrives to be all these things at once. Tara Westover guides us through the extraordinary western landscape of her coming of age and in clear, tender prose makes us feel what she felt growing up among fanatics. We give ourselves over to her telling, even when she takes us to the very darkest places a family can dwell. Rarely have I read a book that made me so uncomfortable, so enraged, and at the same time so utterly, entirely absorbed. I loved this book, and this woman."--Claire Dederer, author of Love and Trouble

"Powerful, moving, brave in its revelation of profound humiliations, naked and completely at home in its form, Tara Westover's Educated gives us homegrown American originals who find their Mormon congregation too conventional and raise their children on a western mountain, refusing them birth certificates and not allowing them to attend school. This is a daughter's story of how she grew into herself and came to understand her home. This book would be far less harrowing if it were a novel."--Mona Simpson, author of Casebook and Anywhere But Here

"A punch to the gut, a slow burn, a savage indictment, a love letter: Educated somehow contrives to be all these things at once. Tara Westover guides us through the extraordinary western landscape of her coming of age and in clear, tender prose makes us feel what she felt growing up among fanatics. We give ourselves over to her telling, even when she takes us to the very darkest places a family can dwell. Rarely have I read a book that made me so uncomfortable, so enraged, and at the same time so utterly, entirely absorbed. I loved this book, and this woman."--Claire Dederer, author of Love and Trouble

"This remarkable memoir--one of the best I've ever read--is my kind of miracle. The book made me cringe, cry out, cover my eyes, shake with anger, beam with pride, and appreciate the trials that led to my own education. Tara Westover's story will find a place alongside modern classic memoirs like Wild and The Glass Castle. It's that special."--Susannah Cahalan, author of Brain on Fire

"Breathtaking, heart-wrenching, inspirational--I've never read anything like this. Educated tells the story of a young girl's escape from violence and emotional prison. It is about the love of family and the pain of family both, the ferocity of the human spirit, and the power of education to change lives. Educated is one of the best books, and Westover one of the most gifted writers, that I've read in a very long time."--Amy Chua, Yale law professor and author of Political Tribes and Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

"A punch to the gut, a slow burn, a savage indictment, a love letter: Educated somehow contrives to be all these things at once. Tara Westover guides us through the extraordinary Western landscape of her coming of age, and in clear, tender prose makes us feel what she felt, growing up among fanatics. We give ourselves over to her telling, even when she takes us to the very darkest places a family can dwell. Rarely have I read a book that made me so uncomfortable, so enraged, and at the same time so utterly, entirely absorbed. I loved this book, and this woman."--Claire Dederer, author of Love and Trouble

"Like The Glass Castle, Educated is a wise and deep reflection about surviving one's family. I bow down to Tara Westover, not only for her marvelous, sentence-by-sentence craftsmanship but also for making sense and meaning from a confounding and hair-raising childhood. This is memoir at its best."--Kelly Corrigan, author of The Middle Place

"Tara is marvelous. There is no feeling like discovering a young writer springing up fully armed with so much talent."--Stephen Fry

"Powerful, moving, brave, naked, and completely at home in its form, Tara Westover's Educated gives us homegrown American originals who find their Mormon congregation too conventional and raise their children on a western mountain, refusing them birth certificates and not allowing them to attend school. This is a daughter's story of how she grew into herself and came to understand her home. This book would be far less harrowing if it were a novel."--Mona Simpson, author of Casebook and Anywhere but Here

"Educated shines a light on a part of our country that we too often overlook. Tara Westover's powerful tale--of trying to find a place for herself in the world, without losing her connection to her family or her beloved home--deserves to be widely read. My Mamaw would have been rooting for Tara."--J. D. Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy

"This remarkable memoir--one of the best I've ever read--is my kind of miracle. The book made me cringe, cry out, cover my eyes, shake with anger, beam with pride, and appreciate the trials that led to my own education. Tara Westover's story will find a place alongside modern classic memoirs like Wild and The Glass Castle. It's that special."--Susannah Cahalan, author of Brain on Fire

"Breathtaking, heart-wrenching, inspirational--I've never read anything like this. Educated tells the story of a young girl's escape from violence and emotional prison. It is about the love of family and the pain of family both, the ferocity of the human spirit, and the power of education to change lives. Educated is one of the best books, and Westover one of the most gifted writers, that I've read in a very long time."--Amy Chua, Yale law professor and author of Political Tribes and Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

"A punch to the gut, a slow burn, a savage indictment, a love letter: Educated somehow contrives to be all these things at once. Tara Westover guides us through the extraordinary western landscape of her coming of age, and in clear, tender prose makes us feel what she felt, growing up among fanatics. Rarely have I read a book that made me so uncomfortable, so enraged, and at the same time so utterly, entirely absorbed."--Claire Dederer, author of Love and Trouble

"Educated is a wise and deep reflection about surviving one's family. This is memoir at its best."--Kelly Corrigan, author of The Middle Place

"Marvelous . . . There is no feeling like discovering a young writer springing up fully armed with so much talent."--Stephen Fry

"Powerful, moving, brave, naked, and completely at home in its form. This is a daughter's story of how she grew into herself and came to understand her home. This book would be far less harrowing if it were a novel."--Mona Simpson, author of Casebook and Anywhere but Here

Tara Westover was born in Idaho in 1986. She received her BA from Brigham Young University in 2008 and was subsequently awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship. She earned an MPhil from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 2009, and in 2010 was a visiting fellow at Harvard University. She returned to Cambridge, where she was awarded a PhD in history in 2014. Educated is her first book.