It's pretty rare that I need 'time off' to cool down after a book but I definitely did after reading Educated. It was a tough read but it was impossible to put down. I read it in 3 days and it stayed with me much longer.

I truly love reading memoirs about different people and I am so glad to have had the opportunity to read this one. Tara's story is gripping but so important to hear about.

Educated is a book about Tara's life. She grew up in Idaho, in a Mormon family with her two parents, brothers and sisters. Her family situation was tough: her father spent most of his adult life hoarding food supplies, guns & fuel as he was convinced that the 'days of abomination' would come. He was paranoid and didn't believe in medicine nor the government, never seeing any doctors for his family or himself and instead chosing to rely on herbs & potions made by his wife. Furthermore, he didn't get birth certificates for his younger children and kept them out of school.
Tara's days were spent mostly at home either helping out in her father's junkyard or assisting her mother in making homemade remedies with herbs and flowers.

However, this didn't stop Tara to move forward. As a teen, she decided to educate herself through books and managed to pass the exam for college all by herself. Her early days away from home were tough, to say the least. Despite everything, she made a life for herself. Not only did she attend Cambridge but she also went to Harvard and later on got her PHD back in Cambridge.

After reading Educated, I am truly in awe of Tara's courage, perseverance and independance.. Her story is worth reading but also sharing with your loved ones.

Thank you Random House & Net Galley for such a great read!

The getting of wisdom – how education, eventually, trumped rampant bigotry and child abuse!

First of all, this is a brilliantly written memoir of an awful upbringing and how the author, eventually, overcoming all the odds, escaped. It chronicles, in often painful and repellent detail, the outrageous excesses of violence; physical, emotional and mental in nature, that a tyrannical father either perpetrated or allowed to be perpetrated on a defenceless daughter, whose mother meekly acquiesced, so in thrall was she to her fanatical husband, who ruled his family like an old testament patriarch, convinced he had a personal hot line to the Almighty.

There is, of course, a sweet irony in the fact that, almost miraculously, she managed to save herself from a lifetime of subjugation amounting almost to slavery. But more than just a memoir, this is a testament to the character, fortitude and doggedness, that enabled her, from somewhere, to summon the strength required to break free of the stultifying bonds of superstition, fear and ignorance that brainwashing from birth can instil. Moreover, it illustrates, in graphic detail, the critical importance of liberal educational ideals at a time in which, increasingly, reason, rationality, pluralism and democracy are being called into question as the bedrocks of western civilization.

In the unlikely event that you ever wondered what a mash-up between ‘Deliverance’ and ‘Educating Rita’ might turn out like, this book would be it!

As a teacher,I was fascinated to find out how someone who received no formal education managed to self educate to a standard which allowed her to go to Cambridge.
It's a grim read,about growing up in a dysfunctional family with very few redeeming characteristics,but in the end I really admired the way the author was determined to get away from her family and move on with her life.

The author of this memoir grew up in a rural area in Idaho. Her parents were strict Mormon’s and her father was paranoid, volatile and spent his time either working in his scrap yard or preparing for the end of the world. With gender roles strictly enforced (unless, as we later discover, it suits Tara’s father that she step out of the kitchen and help him in some extremely physical, and dangerous, labour), her mother is submissive and prefers to ignore what she does not want to see. Pushed by her husband into helping as a midwife on the mountain community, with every act her father wills as ‘divine,’ and so not easily rejected, she eventually embraces healing. In a way, it is useful that Tara’s mother does become a healer, as the family do not believe in traditional medicine. Or education, which is, of course, central to this book.

Tara is one of seven siblings – five boys and two girls. To her, it almost seems as though there are two families within her own. The three oldest boys received a rudimentary education, before being pulled out of school and either quarrelling, or working for, their father. The four younger children never set foot in a classroom and, while their mother insists they are being home schooled, her father only really insists that she learn Morse Code. The issues with medicine also have terrible ramifications – while it may be acceptable to take a herbal remedy for a cold, or headache, the mix of a junkyard, complete with machinery, plus the fact their father seems to want to drive everyone cross country, at night, with no seatbelts, leads to some really traumatic scenes. This book is not for the faint hearted.

At some point, Tara decides she wishes to go to school. Along the way, she suffers various setbacks. She has no understanding of basic subjects, such as maths or history. Her parents feel betrayed by her decision and she lacks the funds that she needs to help her study. While she does go away to college and, eventually, to both Cambridge and Harvard, she continually feels a pull back to Bucks Peak and her family. However, as well as her difficult relationship with her father, there is the ominous presence of her older brother, Sean. Sean is demanding, difficult, aggressive, controlling and violent. As she grows, Tara questions her role in her family, her beliefs and her past. Is educating herself worth it, if she loses her ties to her childhood, home and family? What, in fact, will her education cost her?

This is a very moving and well written memoir and I applaud the author for her bravery in writing it. As someone who has spent most of their life reading, the thought of Tara’s rebellion against her enforced ignorance is extremely impressive. Her story is liberating, empowering, impressive and inspiring. She fought against the life that had been written for her and she changed her story. Tara had no idea about literature, but she was forging her own path and re-writing her future. I am deeply humbled by this book, which is one I recommend highly. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

Educated was just mind-blowing. It was a book that, no matter how hard I try, I will never have the grasp on words needed to be able to explain all the things that it has made me feel. I have always believed that one of the biggest benefits of reading is that people get to experience lives that are completely separate from their own - it goes a long way towards creating empathy, breaking down barriers and allowing people to see the world from the perspectives of other people; all things that are desperately needed in this increasingly numb, disconnected world.
This memoir told a person’s story that is as far away from mine own as it gets.
Tara Westover has lived a life that I had never considered a possibility. She was raised completely off the grid, something that I never even realised was a reality anymore, in a family whose father-dominated belief system and his rejection of the government, his obsession with the end of the days, and his warped understanding of the Mormon faith controlled every aspect of their lives. I spent hours mulling over whether her upbringing could be considered to be a cult, and why shouldn’t it? I suppose that from my cushy position in my bed in Cardiff, cults just feel so separate, so alien just in their most simple form - it is impossibly terrifying to think about the person assuming the cult leader position being their father.
And it can only make the belief system all the more pervasive, all-consuming. Tara Westover speaks extensively as to how the perspectives of her family when it comes to the female body, clothing and purity, continue to permeate throughout her years away from them and how, assumptions that they had that she has now learnt to be unfounded, still loom at the back of her mind. Distancing yourself from a cult is supposed to be near-impossible, and I suspect that difficulty only grows when the cult takes on a form so central to life as the family.
It takes Tara Westover years of tenacity, strength and perseverance for her to become the astounding person that she is today, and her’s is a powerful story unlike any I have ever read. Just go. Go now and read it - I assure you, your life will be better for it.

Educated tells the story of Tara Westover’s childhood and adolescence growing up in an isolated and strict household. Her family are Mormon, but under her father’s intense rule they are set apart from the rest of the Mormon community who he still sees as immoral. Kept away from school and with a minimal education, Tara is trapped in an often brutal existence limited to the confines of her father’s scrapyard and ruled by his intense and paranoid moods. As she grows older, she begins to educate herself and seek out knowledge, despite her father’s fury and the abuse of one of her older brothers. Her family dynamic is grimly fascinating and, although parts of the book are deeply harrowing, the message - that seeking an education can free you from the deepest of prisons - is powerful and uplifting. It’s incredibly well written, raw and beautifully honest.

I find when I quite like a book but a few little things bother me, I'm much more likely to write a long detailed review. The same when I detest a book, as I have to go through every awful thing about it. But with Educated, which I absolutely adored, I'm actually finding it hard to write this. At the same time, everyone in the world has to read it so I'll never run out of people to discuss it with.

It's one of those books that you want to talk about constantly, either with people who have read it or at people who haven't. I've just been badgering everyone I know about it for the last few weeks. It's brilliantly written, of course, but the sort of writing that takes a step back and lets the story sing straight to the reader. And the story is jaw-dropping—I spent a lot of time reading it on the tube flinching, my hand going to my mouth, as Tara's family car crashed or her brother sustained another major head injury or her wild horse bucked her off and her foot got caught in the stirrup.

As the book ends [with Tara still estranged from her family (hide spoiler)], I actually said "no!" out loud as I realised I'd read the last page. Just. What a book. One of those that it's impossible to overhype. I hope it wins every award possible.

Tara Westover is a great writer - and 'Educated' is a superb memoir, one that deals with her harrowing upbringing in a devout Mormon family, living on a remote Idaho mountain.

Throughout her formative years, Westover experiences abuse at the hands of one of her older brothers - and this abuse, largely physical but also mental, is shocking. Alongside this, her father's obsession with the 'end of days' affects everything that the family do. Some of the family's children commit themselves to the parents' fundamentalist views; others, such as Tara, are more determined to follow a different path, although it's no mean feat. In fact, the Buck Mountain home draws Tara back, magnet-like, and one can't help wonder why, particularly when she knew what lay in wait. It must be the pull of the family.

Westover didn't have any formal education until she was 17; she got a Ph.D from Cambridge at 27. It's truly amazing how a girl who essentially grew up isolated and treated horrifically did so well, academically. It's not as if she had a huge amount of self-belief, either - there are many times when the writer wants to throw in the towel and go home, to her bipolar father (who has many accidents and survives against all odds) and her mother, a pseudo midwife who later makes the family extremely rich by building up a business dealing in health potions.

This is a heart-rending and brilliant read. I am pleased that Tara has left so much of her old life behind - I only hope what lies ahead for her brings much greater things, things that demonstrate further what a great writer she is.

I will be telling everyone I know that reads to pick up a copy of this book. Tara's story has stayed in my mind since finishing this earlier in the week. Not always an easy read but thoroughly compulsive. I just needed desperately to know how Tara got on, whether she gained the education and escaped her family ties after working so hard to do so. Scenes involving one of her older brothers, Shawn were desperate - On more than one occasion, I found myself gasping at the violence and brutality of her life working on the mountain.

Tara's story is one of growing up in a strict Mormon household in the remote area of Idaho.
Her parents are survivalists and so she spends her time rotating and bottling food in their belief the family would be unaffected should the World of men fail. Her strict disciplinarian father does not allow the children access to hospitals, school or doctors and their births are not recorded.
Instead her time is spent working in the family business, home schooling and listening to teachings.
Tara however decides to break free and realises that education is her way out of this constrained life.
Tara goes out on to achieve amazing things educationally whilst battling with the guilt of being disloyal to her parents and faith. But ultimately it is her education that gives her the strength to take a different path in life. Its a harrowing and painful tale but then what shines through is the coming of age, self-determined and uplifting aspects. I book I would highly recommend.
My thanks go to the author, publishers and Netgalley in providing the arc of this book in return for a honest review.

Tara Westover’s memoir of growing up in a rural Idaho community comes across as unstinting in its honesty and unsparing in its chronicling of the harshness of life on the mountain. Families are always complicated and Westover’s seems more complicated than most, but she tells the story of her transformation from a girl who has never been to school to a high-achieving academic eloquently and without self-pity. Educated is an engrossing read, but although there are supportive teachers who see in her what she doesn’t see in herself, and moments of clarity about how her sense of self has been defined by the abuse she has suffered, for me the final third of the book documents the steps in her transformation rather than explaining exactly how she became ‘educated’. Having said that, this is a very rewarding read that offers real insight into a range of sensitive issues, including abusive relationships, mental illness, survivalism, religion and what makes us who we are.

The story of Tara's survivalist fundamentalist Mormon childhood in Idaho and her leaving to pursue an education.

Wow! This has to be one of the most inspiring books I have read in years. Brilliantly written, it conveys the transformation that education brings about in Tara. Not only in terms of academic accomplishment, but perhaps more importantly, in empowering her to find herself. Her early years in an ardently Mormon household, hidden away in remote Idaho, is truly chilling. The unbending discipline of her father dominates the entire household as he refuses to allow the family any access to hospitals, schools,, parties - all of which he regards as leading them straight to the Devil. So the children are all home-schooled by their mother but even this is curtailed by their father as he makes all of them work increasingly long hours in his scrapyard. Most of the children get dreadfully injured ,at some point or other, carrying out this work and are sent in to their mother to patch them up with natural herbs and simple bandages. Somehow they survive, but their father's dominance goes largely unchallenged. Tara, however, determines to break free from these restrictive shackles and somehow understands that freedom lies in getting an education. But this in turn demands a complete break from her family. So as not to spoil your enjoyment I won't tell you more, other than that what she achieves is truly incredible. Her teachers are amazingly supportive in repeatedly encouraging her onwards, even though she feels she just has to return home to her father's world.
Whilst her sense of disloyalty, to both the Mormon faith and her father, is ever-present and threatens to defeat her, ultimately education provides her with the strength and wisdom to establish a new life. Lest any reader should doubt this link there is a chilling reality in that, when her family ultimately fractures, the 4 siblings that never broke out and got an education reject Tara completely. They cling to the words and beliefs of their father and accept all the hardship and brutality that he continues to imposes on their lives. However Tara, along with the two brothers who also broke away and sought education, form a new family bond - one which recognises they have an absolute right to walk a different path. Tara's tale is truly uplifting. This is a brilliant, albeit on occasions unbelievably painful, read.

This is a five star book from beginning to end. Tara Westover, born in 1986, writes of growing up in a remote part of Idaho with parents who were fundamental Mormons and a father who was a survivalist. The family were poor initially and made most of their income running a scrapyard. Tara, the youngest of seven children was expected to help in the business from an early age. Health and safety were non existent. Also non-existent seem to be basic common sense and a parental desire to protect your children. There were several dreadful accidents both in the scrapyard and on the road but somehow Tara knew she had to get an education and out of this harsh environment. Her story of making it to Cambridge University and Harvard is quite incredible to the point you would think it was nonsense if written as fiction. But this is not fiction - her incredible journey from never going to school or being home-schooled to getting degrees from the world's top academic institutions really happened.

While I was gripped by the tale it did leave me with many questions. Tara says that it is not a book about religion so their family being fundamental Mormons is not dwelled on but I would have liked to hear more as I thought that fundamental Mormons practiced polygamy but no members of this family practice polygamy. I also question how someone with no education at all can get into BYU. And not just Tara but 2 of her siblings who were also not educated either in school or homeschooled.

On one hand I was keen to get to the end to know what happened but on the other hand I didn't want it to finish as it was such a gripping tale. I truly hope Tara writes a further volume in a few years or one of her siblings or parents write a book themselves.

With thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Raised in a radical Mormon family in rural Idaho, Tara Westover’s father believed the end times would soon come. Her childhood consisted of gathering provisions for their survival, working in her father’s scrapyard, and shunning education for her mother’s version of home-schooling. Throughout her childhood she never visited a doctor, received a vaccine, or took a pill for pain, as her father believed the medical establishment was in cahoots with the Illuminati, and any medicine or pills taken would stay in your body and cause you long term harm.

Despite the constant emotional and physical abuse that she suffers at the hands of her family, Westover manages (without having ever gone to school) to get into Brigham Young University, paving the way for an educational journey that will take her to the hallowed halls of Harvard and Cambridge, earning her a PhD in intellectual history and political thought.

This book is so so good. The journey that Westover takes is so full of craziness and self-doubt that we are with her every step of the way, urging her on and willing her success. Her story is told incredibly well, excellently written. It is never self-indulgent, which a memoir like this could so easily have been.
I read this book in 2 days, which is very quick for me. At the end of each chapter I would tell myself ‘just one more’, staying up way past my bedtime to read more. I couldn’t put it down! For anyone who is thinking of picking this up, DO IT.

Yes, as many reviewers have said, this was a hard book to read. I had to stop a couple of times and come back when I had taken a deep breath.
. Saddened deeply at the levels of brutality and non understanding in Tara's family. Saddened by the fanaticism in her father, swiftly followed by a brother. Saddened by the meekness of her mother in giving way to these dictators in her home.
Despite having no support system, Tara somehow reached her target of becoming educated, the only way out for her. Still her loyalty to this dysfunctional family never wavered although the response was cold.
I admire her for writing this book.
Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy.

Educated is a tale of struggle, resilience, and bravery from Tara and some of her siblings. There's also so much betrayal and abuse in there too from Tara's father - often to the point that it is sometimes hard to read. I just hate to think that someone can treat their own family this way, wondering at times if this can really be possible - but the fact that it is Tara Westover's real life in the pages of this book just shows that, sadly, there is real evil in this world - but also some real light, too!

The support Tara got as she grew up is more uplifting and I liked learning about her life at the universities she attended. She's incredibly naive at times and often quite hard to 'work out', but this all added to my interest in the book. I also really enjoyed reading about the Mormon faith - I still don't feel like I know that much about the faith because, even with my limited knowledge, I can tell that no one could think that the Westover family is a 'typical' Mormon family!

It's an inspiring read, and for someone like me who generally enjoyed school and spends a lot of time reading, it's crazy to think some children aren't given the same opportunities from a young age and are even blocked from accessing education by those who are supposed to care and love them.

Educated is definitely a thought-provoking and unusual read, and one I would recommend.

Having recently read Rebecca Stott’s ‘Days of Rain’, another memoir about growing up within a restrictive religious group might have been a little too much. Not so. This is a brilliant exposition of metaphorical and literal journeying from a family’s world so saturated in abuse and ignorance that it is normalised to a life in which the individual fights to win scholarships and university places where she is encouraged to blossom and grow intellectually and emotionally, something made all the more extraordinary by the fact that Tara Westover never went to school and spent most days helping out her father in his highly dangerous scrapyard, avoiding the most serious of physical injuries by luck rather than any health and safety practice!
If you pick up ‘Educated’ expecting to be tutored in and shocked by the unfamiliar (to most of us) doctrine of Mormonism, you will be disappointed. This is not a memoir which excoriates any one faith system and we see pretty quickly that Tara’s father’s beliefs are not in any way the norm within the Mormon community. Suffering from bipolar disorder, he is delusional, passionate, at times downright dangerous and often depressed. He controls his family with an iron will and as Tara struggles to free herself of guilt when disobeying her father and, in particular, tries to break away from her brother Shawn’s coercive and often brutal behaviour, it takes her years to make peace with the notion that she will have to walk away from some family members if she is to ever be true to her real self. This memoir is a superb study in how even very able, talented, curious and sensitive people can be brainwashed into behaving in self-destructive ways when a society’s patriarchal rules encourage all-encompassing power to be wielded with little regard for the law.
Tara Westover describes traumatic events without resorting to gratuitous description. She is careful not to take the easy route of applying ‘monster’ and ‘redeemer’ labels because she knows that life is much more complicated. Throughout the depictions of all of her suffering – both physical and mental – there is no self-pity and this makes the tale all the stronger. A wonderful exposition on love, loyalty, terror and guilt, and, eventually, self-belief and inner strength.
My thanks to NetGalley and Random House New York for an e-copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

A fascinating story about a girl who grows up with a religious fanatical family. Growing up with a complete lack of understanding about even the simplest of life skills and knowledge she has no birth certificate and does not exist in any records of normal life. It is a difficult read due to descriptions of violence, cruelty and ignorance. However, the strength of Tara is amazing and following her incredible journey to self educate herself is truly rewarding.

Tara Westover had a harrowing upbringing, as the seventh child in a fundamentalist Mormon family in the backwoods of Idaho. Her childhood and teenage years were peppered with car accidents, work accidents, and other mental and physical trauma and abuse.

Despite all that and despite lacking any education and she was never sent to school or homeschooled, she ends up getting a college education and eventually, a pHD at Cambridge University in the UK.

The writing style, some niggling gaps in the story and some things that didn't quite add up kept me at a distance, so I never really got a sense of who Tara Westover really was.