Was kann ich zu diesem Buch sagen, was nicht schon gesagt wurde? Es war ja lange Zeit in aller Munde und ich habe es zugegebenermaßen erst recht spät gelesen.

Tara wuchs abgeschottet und ohne richtige Schulbildung auf, litt unter einem dominanten Vater. Eine richtige Schule betrat sie erstmals mit 17, und von da an änderte sich alles. Bildung bildet in diesem Roman, der auf dem Leben der Autorin basiert, das Mittel zu Flucht und Selbstverwirklichung. Und der Leser lernt wie wichtig Bildung allgemein ist und dass der Zugang zu ihr nicht selbstverständlich ist. Berührend, packend, augenöffnend.

Educated // by Tara Westover

From the NetGalley description: "An unforgettable memoir about a young girl who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University."

In Educated, Tara Westover tells her unforgettable story about growing up in the mountains of Idaho with a family that continually grows more suspicious of the government, which to him includes everything from schools to hospitals and what we generally just think of as normal parts of our lives. She tells us about the physical and mental hardships she had to endure, and how she clawed her way out of the influence of her family and chose to build a different life for herself instead.

I first read this book a little over a year ago and consider it one of the reasons why I love memoirs so much. Rather than reading it and putting it to the side without another thought, I actually have talked about this book many times since then. It has helped me understand the difference between a biography and a memoir as well as why I enjoy the latter so much more. There are many things in this book that seem unfathomable to me as well as any many others that did not grow up in a community like hers so it is easy to dismiss her stories as fantastical and exaggerated. She even explains herself that some of her memories do not match up at all with those of her siblings who were present for the same events. But what is important to remember - and I can confirm this personally from experience - is that trauma can alter the way we perceive experiences as well as the way we remember them, and while her descriptions may not reflect events exactly, I do think it can be argued that she describes them as they appeared to her, which is powerful to read nonetheless. I think this book will stick with me for a long time and the only real complaint that I have is that I wish there was more about her actual pursuit of her education since that is what the book is named for.

Really compelling writing which gives you hope throughout the book that things will be ok in the end. I couldnt put it down.

Thank you to Netgalley for the copy of Educated by Tara Westover. I enjoyed this memoir and would definitely recommend.

I grabbed this book back in the fall because so many of my friends couldn’t stop talking about how much they loved this book. Getting an eARC was the push I needed to finally dive into it. Unfortunately I didn’t end up feeling quite the same way.

I did found the premise quite fascinating, it was amazing how someone with so little education could go on to attend such prestigious colleges. It was interesting to see how strong ones background could be; to see what a hold one's family can have on them, even after you’ve escaped.

Here’s where the unpopular opinion comes in... as interesting as this story was, I couldn’t get into it and I often didn’t feel the desire to pick it up. I pushed through it because I know so many people have loved it. I thought that the feeling of this book was very monotone, even the more anxious/stressful scenes of this book fell flat. This book covered about two decades of Tara’s life and while she battled some intense battles (with her family, her view on the world, and with herself), I had a hard time connecting with her and wanting to her more. With so much praise for this book, I expected a lot more from this story.

Just a few days ago, I was surprising blessed with a copy of this book from Netgalley. I really enjoyed the book on a whole. However, I must admit that I did have trouble remember that the setting was not the 1890’s and understanding how someone with little to no education can pass her ACT, much less go to college.
Educated is an enjoyable book about perseverance and knowledge are power to make your life better.

Tara Westover was raised by Mormon extremists (not polygamist) parents in Southern Idaho. She was taught fear of government, medicine and traditional schooling. Somehow she managed to go from there to enter college at BYU and continue on to study at Cambridge and Harvard.

I was fascinated at her description of her memory being changed because others convinced her things did or didn't happen. It gives insight to how hard it is to question what you are taught when what you want most is to believe and belong to your family. Her narrative seemed honest and straight forward.

Some very graphic descriptions of injuries (from accidents and physical abuse). Also hard to read physical and emotional abuse scenes (nothing sexual). It is not critical of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), but of her parents' extremist teachings. My daughter recently graduated from BYU and I am amazed someone sitting next to her could have never heard of the Holocaust and History. She only knew the things her father taught and allowed.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the eBook in exchange for an honest review.

This book has actually been on my "to read" list for quite some time. I was excited when I saw it was available on net galley and that I was chosen to read and review it. I come from a family that was all about getting an education. I have my masters degree and can't imagine what Tara and her siblings had to go through. Education is so important in life and to be a successful human. I love that Tara was able to teach herself Algebra and pass the ACT's and eventually got her doctorate along with 2 of her other siblings. Shows you what perseverance can do and that no matter you'r upbringing, you can over come anything if you put your mind to it.

The writing style is phenomenal. The way Tara describes her live story is remarkable and so captivating! Her story is far from anything that I have experienced personally and it feels at times that certain things just cannot be true! Not that I don't believe what she's telling, I just cannot imagine going through this due to my lack of experience. Knowing that the author was able to changer her life and her being able to accomplish this incredible career does make me oddly proud...

It’s hard for me to review this book. I want to scream for this little girl who didn’t know what a childhood was. And this makes me hate the religion of Mormonism even more and hate what it does to people. I know Tara Westover, the author, said she wasn’t trying to denounce any religion with this book, but with everything she told us, how can you not hate this religion, especially the fundamentalist side of it. I know there’s a side of Mormonism that isn’t this extreme or doesn’t agree with the polygamists. This family, as far as I know, didn’t agree with polygamy, but it wasn’t spoken of much in this book. I just assumed this because they didn’t practice it. But I’m glad she got away and decided to live a life of her own. I hope she still wants to know the Lord and live for Him, but I’m not sure where she stands on that. The book itself and her life she writes about is riveting. I could hardly put it down. It is a must read most definitely. Thank you to #NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review #Educated with my honest view.

My jaw hit the floor in several places in this book. I was fascinated by the day to day realities and how vastly different my life is from this despite being a Mormon girl who lives less than 150 miles from Bucks Peak. The gaslighting, willful ignorance, religious fundamentalism, abuse, etc. was absolutely shocking. I can’t imagine going through all that and then being able to emotionally handle putting it all out there publicly.

My absolute favorite quote is from Chapter 28 when Tara is at Cambridge when Tara explains her lack of fear of sanding on the chapel roof and says, “The wind is just the wind. You could withstand these gusts on the ground, so you can withstand them in the air. There is no difference. Except the different you make in your head… If you could just control your panic, this wind would be nothing.”

Readers should know that the book discusses and describes emotional and physical abuse. Also there are many graphic descriptions of physical injuries like serious cuts and severe burns.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the eBook in exchange for an honest review.

Well written account of the author's journey to educate herself. Dialogue pulls you in and the details are written in a chronological flow that makes reading the narrative a pleasurable experience.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book to read and review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This was a harrowing, interesting book. While it held my attention, part of me questioned the believability of some incidences. Not saying the author was untrue, but I do wonder if some things were a bit exaggerated.

I think I’m one of the last people on the planet to read this book. I’ve seen countless five star reviews and now I completely understand. The writing style is so readable and of course the story, which seems like it can’t possibly be true (but must be!), made the book hard to put down. I do wish the story’s ending would have been neat, with a little bow on top, but of course that’s not how real life works.

4.5/5 stars

I might be one of those rare people who only now read this book. Reading this book came in waves, some days I couldn't put it down and others - couldn't read even few pages. Some parts felt as to lack emotions. The ending meanwhile was, in my opinion, the most powerful part.
Overall, yes, a very powerful and fascinating life story!

Wow! I just recently hear about this book and instantly wanted to read it. Thankfully I was able to get a digital copy through Netgalley and I was not disappointed!

Knowing situations like those in the book happen and reading a first hand account of said situations are completely different things. I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in expanding their world view of others life experiences, or just anyone interested in reading an amazing persons journey.

I don’t read a lot of memoirs, but I had heard great things about this one and wanted to check it out. Overall, I enjoyed it and thought it was so interesting, but I find it so hard to actually give a rating to someone’s life.

This is a memoir about Tara, a girl who didn’t step foot in to a school until she was 17. So many of her stories seem so unlikely current day, but it shows how many people are able to live outside of the grid and actually not get the education they need.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book for review. I really enjoyed it.

After reading Educated I believe more than ever that WORDS HAVE POWER.

This book is captivating, reading Tara's story was both illuminating and infuriating at times.

For me this book revolved around words and family, because word made such a impact on Tara both in a good and bad way, she struggled so much to believe in herself and trust herself in the world, I admire her so much because she was always there for family despite everything that she had been put through in her life.

I admire Tara for her perseverance and for writing such an amazing book.

This book is insane and everyone seriously needs to read it. I was blown away at the perseverance of a child to fight for what they want, even when they do not know what is right or wrong. There are multiple instances of abuse and might be uncomfortable for some to read. While there are references to Mormonism the forward spoke true the book is not about the religion but instead about the journey of the one individual and how her family’s interpretation of that religion affected her life. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

After hearing about so many people reading this book and loving it, I had to read it myself. The book for me started out a little slower than I thought it would. I read and finished the book in just a few short days. I wanted to love the book but I enjoyed it. For those who are looking for a good story then this is the book for you. I would read it again but I think I would get the paperback version of the book instead.