Educated

by Tara Westover

On Sale: 02/20/2018

Educated

Enlarge Book Cover

Educated

by Tara Westover

On Sale: 02/20/2018

Format:

Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers for Non-Fiction

Indigo's Best Books of the Decade

Publishers Weekly Best Book

Los Angeles Times Book Prize

Indigo Best Books of the Year

John Leonard Award for Best First Book

Audio Publisher’s Association “Audie” Award

Wellcome Book Prize

Washington Post Best Book

Minneapolis Star Tribune

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize

PEN/Jean Stein Award

Indie Choice Awards

ALA Alex Award

National Book Critics Circle Award

LibraryReads #1 Pick

TIME Magazine’s Best Nonfiction Books of the Year

American Library Association’s 2019 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction

IBW Book Award

Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize

Amazon.ca Best Book of the Year

About the Book

For readers of The Glass Castle and Wild, a stunning new memoir about family, loss and the struggle for a better future

#1 International Bestseller

Tara Westover was seventeen when she first set foot in a classroom. Instead of traditional lessons, she grew up learning how to stew herbs into medicine, scavenging in the family scrap yard and helping her family prepare for the apocalypse. She had no birth certificate and no medical records and had never been enrolled in school.

Westover’s mother proved a marvel at concocting folk remedies for many ailments. As Tara developed her own coping mechanisms, little by little, she started to realize that what her family was offering didn’t have to be her only education. Her first day of university was her first day in school—ever—and she would eventually win an esteemed fellowship from Cambridge and graduate with a PhD in intellectual history and political thought.

 

Critical Praise

“This remarkable story of triumphing over a survivalist upbringing is fit to stand alongside the great modern memoirs . . . Powerful . . . a compelling and ultimately joyous account of self-determination.” — Mail on Sunday

“Tara Westover is living proof that some people are flat-out, boots-always-laced-up indomitable . . . a heartbreaking, heartwarming, best-in-years memoir.” — USA Today (four stars)

“Memoirs of difficult childhoods have a high bar to cross these days, but Westover’s struggle to make sense of the world and of her upbringing sails right over.” — Time

“Astounding . . . Westover examines her childhood with unsparing clarity, and, more startlingly, with curiosity and love, even for those who have seriously failed or wronged her.” — New Yorker

“Extraordinary.” — The Globe and Mail

“A powerful story of triumph and perseverance.” — CBC Books

“Incredible . . . a powerful book . . . beautiful.” — Ellen DeGeneres

“The extremity of Westover’s upbringing emerges gradually through her telling, which only makes the telling more alluring and harrowing.” — The New York Times

“Jaw dropping.” — Daily Mail (UK)

“Fascinating . . . this book is a testament to willpower and freedom in knowledge.” — Canadian Living

“For the rebel in your family . . . Horrifying and enthralling at once . . . epic.” — NBC News

“A story of resiliency amid many obstacles, including shame, violence, mental illness, family dysfunction and betrayal.” — Winnipeg Free Press

“This harrowing memoir shows a young woman’s grit melding her work ethic and dazzling intellect as she freed herself from the narratives imposed on her by family and her constricted world--all to achieve a fact-based, enchanting life of the mind, a true education.” — Los Angeles Times

“In the long process of escape, [Westover] acquired an independent sense of self, an ability to choose what she wants to be . . . A detailed and touching–sometimes harrowing–account.” — National Post

“Superb.” — The Times (UK)

“The story of a transformation so courageous, so entire, as to beggar belief . . . Westover’s triumph in forging a grounded self, and a coherent narrative, from such a maelstrom.” — Financial Times

“A riveting memoir of a brutal upbringing . . . That someone who grew up in [Westover’s] circumstances could achieve as much as she has is astonishing.” — The Economist

“A powerful memoir . . . extraordinary.” — The Guardian

“Astonishing, harrowing and brave . . . a shocking and powerfully moving memoir . . . It is remarkable that she has lived to tell the tale.” — Daily Mail (UK)

“Astounding.” — San Francisco Chronicle

“Fascinating.” — Wall Street Journal

“Westover’s story is as much about her difficult childhood and what it’s like to grow up on fringe beliefs as it is about seeing the world through the eyes of a singular, intelligent, and observant person.” — Vanity Fair

“I’ve never read a story like this . . . amazing.” — CBS This Morning

“Elegantly written . . . a beautiful and propulsive new memoir.” — Vogue

“An astonishing account of deprivation, confusion, survival, and success.” — Kirkus

“[A] searing debut memoir. . . . Westover’s vivid prose makes this saga of the pressures of conformity and self-assertion that warp a family seem both terrifying and ordinary.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“One of the best, most absorbing memoirs I’ve ever read.” — Stylist

“Westover writes with uncommon intelligence and grace. Educated recounts one of the most improbable and fascinating journeys I’ve read in recent years.” — Newsday

“A coming-of-age memoir reminiscent of The Glass Castle.”
Oprah.com (Best Book)

“A deeply inspiring and thought-provoking read on the fire within each and every one of us to overcome adversity should we fight hard enough for it.” — Psychology Today

“One of the year’s very biggest books.” — Entertainment Weekly

“A memoir to stand alongside classics by the likes of Jeanette Winterson and Lorna Sage . . . a compelling and ultimately joyous account of self-determination.” — Sunday Times

“The power of an education shines in Westover’s memoir of overcoming her incredibly harsh upbringing in favor of academia.” — Parade (A Best Book of the Year)

“[A] fascinating, jaw-dropping memoir” — Observer

“Astonishing . . . You will be amazed at her upbringing and mightily impressed by her strength of character.” — Sydney Morning Herald

“Searing.” — Seattle Times

“Ane of the most dazzling books of 2018.” — The Atlantic

“Breathtaking, heart-wrenching, inspirational. . . A powerful, jaw-dropper of a book . . . Educated is one of the best books, and Westover one of the most gifted writers, that I’ve read in a very long time.” — Amy Chua, Yale Law professor and author of Political Tribes and Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“An incredible memoir of triumph over seemingly endless adversity. The author’s ability to write about her experiences in a clear-eyed, nonjudgmental way makes her story a pleasure to read. A study in the power and wonder of resilience.” — Cea Sunrise Person, author of North of Normal and Nearly Normal

“Tara’s process of self-discovery is beautifully captured . . . It’s the kind of book that I think everyone will enjoy, no matter what genre you usually pick up.” — Bill Gates (A Best Book of the Year)

“Beautifully written. . . . Westover’s powerful tale—of trying to find a place for herself in the world, without losing her connection to her family or her beloved home—deserves to be widely read. My Mamaw would have been rooting for Tara.” — JD Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy

“I just read a bok I did splits over: Educated by Tara Westover, about finding your own voice, and no matter what the odds are, answering that voice.” — Mandy Patinkin

“An unflinching account of love and brutality, of the strength of blood ties and the power of imagination, and of a young woman whose intellect, self-knowledge and courage illuminate every page . . . Both the book and its writer are remarkable in every respect.” — Sarah Perry, author of The Essex Serpent

“Absolutely superb . . . the last 100 pages were so gripping I could hardly breathe.” — Sophie Hannah, author of Keep Her Safe

“A punch to the gut, a slow burn, a savage indictment, a love letter. . . . Rarely have I read a book that made me so uncomfortable, so enraged, and at the same time so utterly, entirely absorbed. I loved this book, and this woman.” — Claire Dederer, author of Love and Trouble

“Powerful, moving, brave, naked and completely at home in its form.” — Mona Simpson, author of Casebook and Anywhere But Here

“An extraordinary story, beautifully told.” — Louise O’Neill, author of Only Ever Yours

“Like The Glass Castle, Educated is a wise and deep reflection about surviving one’s family. I bow down to Tara Westover, not only for her marvelous, sentence-by-sentence craftsmanship but also for making sense and meaning from a confounding and hair-raising childhood. This is memoir at its best.” — Kelly Corrigan, author of The Middle Place and Glitter & Glue

“A striking story, beautifully told. Tara is an incredible new talent.” — Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of A Manual for Heartache

“Emotionally and intellectually acute, profoundly brave in confronting the injuries most people survive by turning away from… and acknowledging that dysfunction follows even when you escape… It’s moved me hugely.” — Imogen Hermes Gowar, author of The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock

“A really eye-opening, incredible read. I completely lost myself in it and was canceling plans to go home and read it. It was so, so, so unique.” — Emma Roberts, American Horror Story

“An absolutely astonishing account of an extraordinary mind overcoming even more extraordinary matter and finding freedom.” — Lucy Mangan, author of Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading

“Wow and double wow. As riveting and mind-blowing as you’d expect. The true surprise is the majesty of Tara Westover’s writing.” — Maria Semple, author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette

“Educated, in showing us the unstoppable power of a young women determined to make her own decisions and find her own way, is an inspiring and important tale for our times.” — Rebecca Stott, author of In the Days of Rain

“Extraordinary . . . ranks alongside Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight in its blistering portrayal of landscape, hardship, violence, family and the ties that bind . . . As powerful a story about the transforming potential of education as you’ll ever read.” — The Bookseller (UK) Book of the Month

“The book has a striking directness that comes from being written in the immediate aftermath of the often shocking events it describes.” — Harper’s Bazaar

“Westover manages both tenderness and a savage honesty that spares no one, not even herself.” — Booklist

“A dazzling example of what you can achieve if you set your mind to something . . . an inspirational, truly unique coming-of-age tale.” — BBC

“One of a kind.” — The Atlantic

“One of the most exceptional books of the year.” — The Independent (UK) Best Book of 2018

“An extraordinary memoir of self-invention, family and loyalty . . . Educated should be the next book you read.” — The Loop

“She recounts her experiences with a matter-of-fact lyricism that is extraordinarily evocative.” — The Irish Times

Educated is so powerful, so haunting.” — Belfast Telegraph

“Westover’s riveting Educated has definitely caught the collective imagination.” — Books + Publishing

“Combining an extraordinary narrative with beautiful writing, Tara Westover’s memoir delivers a powerful coming-of-age saga.” — Paste magazine (The Best Book of the Year)

“One of the best and most surprising memoirs in years.” — Vail Daily Best Book of the Year

“If you decide to choose only one memoir in the year 2019 pick up Educated.” — Florida Times-Union

“A stunning read.” — Daily Hampshire Gazette (Best Book of the Year)

“I haven’t read a memoir this gripping since The Glass Castle.” — Steamboat Pilot & Today Best Book of the Year

“Westover’s perseverance and her sense of self is inspiring, and her writing is skillful and engrossing.” — The Day

“A compelling testament to the transformative power of education.” — rabble.ca

“A brilliant, heartfelt and illuminating book.” — Boise Weekly

“Marvelous.” — Tampa Bay Times

Educated brings to life the importance of reinvention and growth in even the most unlikely of situations.” — Ginni Rometty, Chairperson and CEO, IBM

“2018’s runaway hit — with good reason.” — New York Post Best Book of the Year

“From the very first pages, Westover’s exquisitely vivid and disarmingly honest writing drew me into a subject I hadn’t spent much time thinking about: the gift of an education.” — Jezebel (Best Book of the Year)

“Wow! A memoir by a woman who never went to highschool yet earned a PhD from Cambridge University. Amazing book, beautifully written.” — Daphne Zuniga

-

Resources

Product Details

  • ISBN: 9781443452502
  • ISBN 10: 1443452505
  • Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers
  • On Sale: 02/20/2018
  • Pages: 400
  • List Price:11.99 CAD
  • BISAC1 : BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / General
  • BISAC2 : BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Women
  • BISAC3 : BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs

Educated by Tara Westover

The broadest selection of online bookstores. The links will take you to the web site's home page.

Other Booksellers

The broadest selection of online bookstores. The links will take you to the Web site's home page.

SELECT:

Specialty Booksellers

Interest-specific online venues and gift accounts that offer books for purchase. The links will take you to the store’s home page.

International Customers

If you are located outside Canada, the best way to order online is to choose from the following bookstores listed by region and country.