#1 NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, AND BOSTON GLOBE BESTSELLER โข 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
โExtraordinary . . . an act of courage and self-invention.โโThe New York Times
NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW โข ONE OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMAโS FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR โข BILL GATESโS HOLIDAY READING LIST โข A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF THE CENTURY โข FINALIST: National Book Critics Circleโs Award In Autobiography and John Leonard Prize For Best First Book โข PEN/Jean Stein Book Award โข 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 Taraโs 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 sheโd traveled too far, if there was still a way home.
โBeautiful and propulsive . . . Despite the singularity of [Westoverโs] 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?โโVogue
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