Educated

A Memoir

De: Tara Westover

Narrado por: Julia Whelan

#1 NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, AND BOSTON GLOBE BESTSELLER • One of the most acclaimed books of our time: an unforgettable memoir about a young woman who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University

“Extraordinary . . . an act of courage and self-invention.”—The New York Times

NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW • ONE OF BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR • A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF THE CENTURY • FINALIST: National Book Critics Circle’s Award In Autobiography and John Leonard Prize For Best First Book • PEN/Jean Stein Book Award • Los Angeles Times Book Prize

Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Her family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent. When another brother got himself into college, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge University. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home.

“Beautiful and propulsive . . . Despite the singularity of [Westover’s] childhood, the questions her book poses are universal: How much of ourselves should we give to those we love? And how much must we betray them to grow up?”—Vogue

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, O: The Oprah Magazine, Time, NPR, Good Morning America, San Francisco Chronicle, The Guardian, The Economist, Financial Times, Newsday, New York Post, theSkimm, Refinery29, Bloomberg, Self, Real Simple, Town & Country, Bustle, Paste, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, LibraryReads, Book Riot, Pamela Paul, KQED, New York Public Library

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Westover has somehow managed not only to capture her unsurpassably exceptional upbringing, but to make her current situation seem not so exceptional at all, and resonant for many others.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Westover is a keen and honest guide to the difficulties of filial love, and to the enchantment of embracing a life of the mind.”—The New Yorker

“Heart-wrenching . . . a beautiful testament to the power of education to open eyes and change lives.”—Amy Chua, The New York Times Book Review

“A coming-of-age memoir reminiscent of The Glass Castle.”—O: The Oprah Magazine

“Westover’s one-of-a-kind memoir is about the shaping of a mind. . . . In briskly paced prose, she evokes a childhood that completely defined her. Yet it was also, she gradually sensed, deforming her.”—The Atlantic

“Tara Westover is living proof that some people are flat-out, boots-always-laced-up indomitable. Her new book, Educated, is a heartbreaking, heartwarming, best-in-years memoir about striding beyond the limitations of birth and environment into a better life. . . . ★★★★ out of four.”—USA Today

“[Educated] left me speechless with wonder. [Westover’s] lyrical prose is mesmerizing, as is her personal story, growing up in a family in which girls were supposed to aspire only to become wives—and in which coveting an education was considered sinful. Her journey will surprise and inspire men and women alike.”—Refinery29

“Riveting . . . Westover brings readers deep into this world, a milieu usually hidden from outsiders. . . . Her story is remarkable, as each extreme anecdote described in tidy prose attests.”—The Economist

“A subtle, nuanced study of how dysfunction of any kind can be normalized even within the most conventional family structure, and of the damage such containment can do.”—Financial Times

“Whether narrating scenes of fury and violence or evoking rural landscapes or tortured self-analysis, Westover writes with uncommon intelligence and grace. . . . One of the most improbable and fascinating journeys I’ve read in recent years.”—Newsday

Extraordinary, gripping, and very harrowing

I recommend this book very strongly, but not for the faint of heart. This is a journey unlike any i have read before. It was entirely captivating, but also like a horrible an accident that you can’t take your eyes off. Family ties and extreme family abuse come packaged together. The author escapes eventually but the price she pays is almost impossible to toll. A very hard life leads to some very hard truths.
It’s very well written and really generous to her family’s extremism, although I’m sure they (mostly) don’t see it that way. Thank you Tara westover!

Powerful

Powerful memoir. She works hard to be accurate with the facts, yet authentic to her own memory and experiences. The theme of trusting oneself and the way you understand your own history is a thread throughout the book; similarly, it becomes an important lesson in her journey that parallels her growth.

Her story is so many things: one driven by diabolical religious rhetoric and conspiracy theory, and a very sad, incredibly lonely youth full of loss. But in the telling of it she weaves kindness, forgiveness, self-deprecating awareness, and fortitude.

I get a deep sense that she avoids criticism of religious extremism, she’s almost painting it with a careful optimism and acceptance. Perhaps this is because culturally it’s ingrained in her to respect her religious upbringing. I found it hard to get past this at times. The historical facts of her parents treatment and beliefs are indisputably indefensible, yet for most of the book she’s only willing to go so far in saying as much.

I highly recommend this book. She’s a wonderful writer.

Wow!

Westover's enlightenment is told in a heartwrenching yet eloquent fashion. Outstanding narration. I listened to this in just a few days.

Amazing

I can’t say enough about this book! It was wonderful! Having been raised Mormon myself, I could relate to her in so many ways. The indoctrination that starts at such an early age in that religion and then to have crazy fanatical parents on top of that, holy CRAP!
The book was amazing and insightful and should be read in every classroom in the America to show that we can all overcome !

educated

As a former mormon I really identified with this story. Although, her upbringing was way outside of the norm, and not representative of Mormons on the whole, I could see reflections of her experience in my own life. I loved seeing Tara triumph despite all of the obstacles in her way