Educated

Tara Westover entered a school for the first time at the age of 17. She was raised by survivalists in the Idaho highlands, storing homemade peach preserves and sleeping with her "head-for-the-hills bag" in case of global collapse. She salvaged at her father's junkyard in the winter and boiled herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, in the summer.

Tara never seen a doctor or nurse since her father disapproved of hospitals. Herbal remedies were used at home to cure burns from explosions, concussions, and ashes. The family was so cut off from the outside world that no one was there to make sure the kids went to school or to step in when Tara's elder brother became aggressive.

Then, without having had any official education, Tara started learning on her own. She taught herself enough English and arithmetic to get into Brigham Young University, where she majored in history and encountered major global events like the Holocaust and the civil rights struggle for the first time. Her pursuit of knowledge changed her, leading her across continents and seas, to Cambridge and Harvard. That's when she would start to question whether she had gone too far and if she could still return home.

An account of the quest for self-invention may be found in Educated. It's a story about intense familial devotion and the sorrow that results from breaking the tightest of bonds. With the sharp insight that sets all great authors apart, Westover has created a universal coming-of-age tale that captures the essence of education and what it offers: the ability to see one's life from a different angle and the determination to make changes.