What readers think of Educated, plus links to write your own review.

Tara persevered from a home life which did not believe in the main stream of society. Home schooled with ideals that modern day medicine and teachings would corrupt her soul. The changes in her from the education she received at the university level brings to mind the terrible impact today's poor education standards are having on our children in today's society. Great book and should be made into a movie.

Can relate to some of her struggles. Was very well written and I hope she makes a sequel to this book...how she sees her life after marriage and children.

What an accomplished novel: superb execution, raw unflinching dialogue, impressive character descriptions,and unrelenting tension. I am not sure there is going to be a better memoir in all of 2018. In Westover's searing novel, and I can't use hyperbole enough, she discusses her Mormon survivalist's family who refuse to vaccinate their 7 children, send them to public schools, or participate in anything that looks like an arm of the government. The children all have to help on the farm working with heavy machinery, scrapping for parts and enduring pain from accidents- the latter being the Lord's will. Early in Tara's life, her mother becomes a midwife and then develops oils and herb infusions to treat mishaps, as doctors and hospitals were mostly verboten. As the children were rarely exposed to others their age, they had no other frame of reference to know that their way of life was not the norm. Violence between one of the brothers and the author was downright scary, more so as the parents defended his actions and looked the other way. The story continues to unfold as Mary begins to find a sense of self, learning to read and write, going on to college and even securing a prestigious Gates scholarship. When one views the trajectory of her insular life to her final accomplishments, one can only shake his/her head in disbelief. From beginning to end this is a riveting, unwavering look at the power of family to define identity, and to explore the determinants of breaking free from deleterious bonds.Settle in and be prepared to be swept off your feet with this austere desolate novel that will scorch and penetrate your soul...and don't forget concurrently to be amazed!

I recommend others to read this story as it reflects the strength which lies within the family to stay strong and follow the command of the person you love and respect the most (in this case ,the father) in difficult times of life.
I also like the way ,the author describes beautifully the love and bonding ,the family shares with nature and mountain.
Although ,education is the reason which land them in trouble ,but it doesn’t surpass the love and respect of the daughter towards her father .

At first it might seem abit difficult to read. Impossible to put down. A powerful, powerful book that you shouldn’t miss. I can’t just leave it at that because Tara Westover’s story deserves more than those few words. I don’t often read memoirs, but when I do I want them to be told by extraordinary people who have a meaningful story to tell and that would be faint praise for this book. It sounds odd to say how beautifully written this is because we are not spared of the ugly details of what this family was about, but yet it is beautifully written. I had to remind myself at times that I wasn’t reading a gritty novel, that Tara and her family were real as I got more than just a glimpse of a life that was hard for me to even imagine.

A religious fanatic father, hoarding food and guns and bullets and keeping his family off the radar, not filing for birth certificates, not getting medical attention when they needed it, avoiding the government, the feds at all cost , keeping his children out of school, the paranoia, the preparation for the “Days of Abomination” - this is what we find in this place on a mountain in Idaho. There are horrible accidents and he won’t get medical help for his family. Her mother’s healing herbs and tinctures are used to treat the slightest scrape to the most horrible head injury or burns from gasoline to an explosion. If some thing bad happens it because that’s the will of the Lord. Her mother seems at times more sympathetic to her children, but she is complicit by her subservience to her husband. I don’t even know how to describe it other than gut wrenching to see the effects on this family of neglect in the name of religious beliefs and in reality mental illness. It isn’t just her father but the brutality by one of her brother’s which is more than awful and creates rifts between family members,

That she was bold enough and somehow found the will to rise above it all while she is torn with the sense of duty, of loyalty to her family, the ingrained beliefs, still loving her family is miraculous. Going to college was the first time she’d been in a classroom, not knowing what the Holocaust was, learning about slavery, the depression, WWII, the civil rights movement. She doesn’t just get a college education but ultimately a PhD from Cambridge, a Harvard fellowship. She struggles for years to discover who she was, who she could be - a scholar, a writer, an independent woman. This is a stunning, awe inspiring story that will haunt the reader long after the book ends.

Thank you to Tara Westover for sharing yourself with us. It was well worth the reading late nights.

The story of Tara Westover broke my heart and depressed me too. It is hard to believe a family, led by an overzealous father and a compliant mother could be so dysfunctional.

But that is what makes the story. Tara never received any education, either formal or home-schooled, until she was 17. She was quite a success, but almost not. Her roommate at BYU had to tell her to READ the textbook, not just look at the pictures.

Her mother, named LaRee, but called Faye in the book, was and still is, an herbalist and essential oils expert. She has a website called Butterfly Essentials.

The family is described in a mostly uncomplimentary way. In fact, Tara felt compelled to give her less civil family members pseudonyms. I still have not figured out what her father's name is (he is called Gene in the book) and whether he is dead or alive.

Tara is now 33 and relying on her memory, three of her brothers memories and her journal to describe the events in this book. Some of the events were so far fetched. Was poetic license taken?

I can see why people would be taken with this book. Even though my heart bleeds, I still also remain a skeptic.