Great read.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Back in 2018, I was given the opportunity to receive an ARC from NetGalley of this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me this opportunity back then. Unfortunately, due to various circumstances, I was unable to read this novel at that time. There it had remained for the past four years, in my ARC digital library with a promise to be read one day.

That day has finally come. WOW - do I regret not picking up this book sooner. This book and the story it tells is raw and real in a way that few books are. Tara is a brilliant author. This memoir of her life, her family, is so personal and so touching that I felt like I lived her life. I felt her suffering, her fear, her successes.

Tara’s journey is so unbelievable and yet so very real that it was hard to put the book down for a break. I’m incredibly impressed with Tara’s successes. I am infinitely more impressed with her ability to see beyond what she was raised to believe and look at the world through different eyes. For Tara to see the truth of a situation and find the strength to separate herself from the people she loved because of abuse is a true miracle.

Tara’s story is worth reading for everyone. There is a lot to be learned here from a young woman who remade herself - despite many obstacles - into a new and much stronger woman.

Highly recommended to all.
Enjoy and happy reading.

I'm still in a toss up to give this book a 4.5 or 5 star review. The writing was incredible, especially considering that the author had not stepped into a school until age 17.

This book was sitting on my TBR shelf since 2018 via NetGalley. I'm not sure why it took me so long to read it. Though the NetGalley version was an e-book, I decided since I could get an audio copy from the library, to listen to it instead. Once I started it, I pretty much was able to finish it in about two weeks. I also purposely tried not to know anything about the book going into it, despite seeing that it had been a New York Times Bestseller.

The first chapters were a little slow for me to get into, but then it took off and I found it pretty hard to put down (so to speak since I was listening to it). At times I was just so shocked at how the way Tara's family treated her (even though they believed the way they did), especially her older brother's physical and mental abuse. The guilt trips she went through and the way her family tested her loyalty. Despite everything, Tara really made something of herself and I do hope that she is truly proud of how she stood up for herself, even when it meant going against her family--or rather the family going against her. Basically self-taught, I found it so incredible how she managed to earn a PhD from Cambridge University! The title of the book was so well thought out. Even though Tara didn't get the mainstream education as most, she learned a lot from her family from working in the scrap yard to learning about herbs and such to actual book/scholarly learning. It's also not surprising that it took her so long to make the break from her family! She wrote the book rather objectively, in my opinion, especially considering everything she went through to get where she is now. It is still hard to believe that the person who wrote so beautifully educated herself!

I would highly recommend this book not for all the hype and recognition it got, but instead to read the story about an amazing young women who overcame so many obstacles and managed to come out on top, despite so much negativity that came from her family and upbringing. She is truly inspiring!

Awfully repetitive and unrelatable. I understand this is a memoir but it feels wildly exaggerated and I didn't find the writing to be as "beautiful" as everyone hyped it up to be. Overall a huge miss for me

Educated was a book that I had to keep reminding myself over and over again that it is non-fiction and that the story I was listening to (I decided to get the audio from my library) had actually happened to Tara. Parts of it were painful to read due to the sensitive nature of the situation, especially those scenes involving her brother Shawn. Hearing her recount the abusive nature of their family dynamic and how their parents said that she must have given him a reason to react that way infuriated me. Every time she kept going back to Buck's Peak I found myself yelling at my phone. But at the end of the book I was proud of Tara and all that she had managed to accomplish in the years since she stood her ground and left home at the age of 16 to head off to BYU.

Sidenote, I do feel like some of the scenes written in this book may not have happened 100% the way that she wrote. I say that because Tara herself writes about how she would read her journals to see if the memories she remembered were correct. And how at the end she didn't trust her own memories of her life on Buck's Peak with her family. But even if some of the parts are over (or under) embellished, this is still a very powerful book and is well worth a read.

I needed some time before I wrote this review and I find I’m still finding it difficult to. This may be one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time. This is a book I’m going to pass down to my daughter for the importance of never giving up on yourself and that anything and everything is possible.

Outstanding. I have actually put off reading this novel for a while now and totally regret doing so. It is an incredible memoir that engulfs readers into a extreme Mormon lifestyle and it’s effects on the people within the Westover family. I really enjoyed this novel and highly recommend it.

This is such an interesting and important book. I am a huge fan of memoirs, particularly of folks I would consider my contemporaries. I also have a niche interest in Mormon culture - maybe because I grew up in a religious, although much more mainstream, household (for example, my parents embraced the public school system).

This book was fascinating and devastating. I thought it was incredibly well-written and well-paced. That language is beautiful and reads almost like literature. I tend to prefer memoirs that are more sarcastic and self-deprecating, but you can really get lost in the language of this book. I will say that it was a bit more depressing (that's not the right word) than I hoped - I was really looking for more a redemption story, or a redemption attitude - which is strange to say because the author, of course, does ultimately go to school but I think that ultimately goes to the authenticity of the author's experience and the book itself.

I highly, highly recommend this book, particularly if you enjoy memoirs and have an interest in fanatical/niche religions.

I tried picking this up a while ago and didn't get past 10% or so. I didn't feel like I was connecting with it and really had no idea what was going on. Finally came back to it (and started over) and I guess something clicked this time because I really enjoyed it.

I definitely was left shocked and saying WTF to myself several times throughout the book. Overall, I found the writing style to be very well done and the story engaging. And I'm blown away by Tara's determination.

I finished this book a while ago, but have struggled to write my review. It was well written, gave a really good timeline of the authors life, and certainly gave enough examples to understand how life was for her growing up.
My big struggle comes from her having NO education to being able to pass the American equivalent of a GED, and then going on to not only one, but TWO prestigious universities after her undergrad. My brain has a hard time understanding how his happened.
I’m very happy for the author that she was able to get herself out of her horrendous childhood home and it was clear the last effect her upbringing had on her.
I feel many things about this book, but still struggle to articulate all of them. Give it a try for yourself and see what your thoughts are!

Thank you to Random House, Tara Westover, and Netgalley for a gifted digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

guess saying I "enjoyed" this book is the wrong word to use, given the subject matter, but it is certainly what I would call almost compulsively readable, in that "train wreck" kind of way -- you feel rather voyeuristic, but at the same time you can't seem to look away.

I don't know that I have a lot of thoughts to add that haven't already been said. I did find some elements here to stretch credulity, particularly the accounts of some of the injuries that went without any more medical attention than salves and oils, but I never get the impression that the author is trying to be sensational -- perhaps maybe just chalk it up to the imperfection of memory?

I'm so glad that Tara was able to escape the undertow of her toxic family. I'm blessed to have an absolutely amazing immediate family, but I know people that aren't, and I know how devastating it can be to know that cutting ties might ultimately be the best thing for one's mental health.

I do find it curious that the author seems to blame mental illness and not religious fundamentalism for her father's abuse. While the former may have certainly exacerbated the latter, obviously both working in tandem created a kind of perfect storm.

It's not hard to imagine where Gene Westover's loyalties and leanings would lie in the year 2021. I wonder what he's doing now, and how many people are still under his spell...

What an interesting and informative read. I loved the journey of Tara and I continue to recommend this book to anyone!

One of my favorite books! I recommend this to anyone who asks, and anyone who will listen! A fantastic and enlightening read.

I read a lot of memoirs. After hearing the hype about educated I was expecting to be blown away, I was not. While not bad, it, in my opinion, did not live up to the hype. It’s a good read that is easy to get through. It wasn’t what I was expecting and I’m still scratching my head over why it’s gained such notoriety.

I am not typically one for memoirs or non fictions but right away I felt intrigued by this book. It held my attention the whole time and set me on paths to further research and to learn about new things. Equally uplifting and heartbreaking

I was intrigued by the pre-publication synopsis and comments for Tara Westover’s memoir, Educated. I am drawn to books that help us understand the stirrings of discomfort and dissonance that make a narrator/protagonist consider change and then take the reader through how challenges are met and overcome. I appreciate descriptions of how one's perception of a situation changes and how temporary setbacks are navigated.

Despite all indications that this would be ‘my kind of book,’ I had difficulty continuing to read it. I fully acknowledged to those who asked that the elements of isolation were too close for comfort. I too had lived where differing points of view were hard to come by. More than three years have passed since its initial publication and, in that time, many have recommended that I read it.

This week, someone who was unaware of my reticence to read this book sent it to me. I took this as a sign and decided to try again. Fully aware of my sensitivity I proceeded cautiously. Yes, I read it to the end and here's why.

1. The author author’s use of language is breathtaking. Her description and sentence structure both make the book a joy to read. Many vignettes close with an acknowledgement that her interpretation of the event didn't come until much later. She also footnotes alternate versions of events as portrayed by other family members.

2. Ms. Westover's personal struggle with getting perspective on her family and their way of doing things is honestly portrayed. When one is in the middle, there is no other point of view. Hence, the adage that we all grow up thinking our family is “normal,” until we get out into the world and compare it with others’ experiences. How does a child figure out if a difference is pathological or worthy as a point of pride? We witnessed the author’s dawning recognition that something is off, hint by hint, clue by clue.

3. The book is even-handed, without a finger-pointing, blaming undercurrent. The author tells the story as nonjudgmentally as possible. Another author might have been harsher towards the parents and some siblings. The facts speak loudly enough to those of us who look in from the outside.

I recommend this book to those who enjoy memoir. I only wish the author had spent more time with the later years, the coming out years. But perhaps there's another book in the making, after enough time passes to allow her to put those experiences in the context of her whole life.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advance copy of the book for my enjoyment.
AND thanks to the friend who bought it for me, not knowing how I felt.

This book blew my mind, even though the events described seemed so unreal as to be exaggerated. But pushing this inside, it was entertaining to be a fly on the wall with these family dramas, despite it being so heartbreaking.

Tara Westover is an amazing woman. I cannot imagine accomplishing what she did. The book held my interest from cover to cover and beyond. I highly recommend reading this.

The most horrifying story I have ever read. I'm shocked and terrified that this was a true story. I don't think I've ever cried so much reading non-fiction before. Recommended reading for everyone!

What to say that hasn't already been said? It's a beautifully written story of the pain and loss that comes with freeing oneself from an abusive situation. I put off reading this for a while because I knew certain parts would hit uncomfortably close to home, but I'm glad I did face down my fears and read it. Even if you haven't lived in a dysfunctional home, the book is inspiring both in how to dream bigger and care better for yourself, and to be kinder to people who are struggling--that kindness might just save someone's life.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.