Traces the author's experiences as a child born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, describing her participation in her family's paranoid stockpiling activities and her resolve to educate herself well enough to earn an acceptance into a prestigious university and the unfamiliar world beyond. - (Baker & Taylor)

"Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her "head-for-the-hills bag." In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father's junkyard. The 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. As a way out, Tara began to educate herself, learning enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University. Her quest for knowledge would transform her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she'd traveled too far, if there was still a way home. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Tara Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes, and the will to change it"-- - (Baker & Taylor)

Traces the author's experiences as a child born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, describing her participation in her family's paranoid stockpiling activities and her resolve to educate herself well enough to earn acceptance into a prestigious university and the unfamiliar world beyond. - (Baker & Taylor)

<b>#1 <i>NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, </i>AND<i> BOSTON GLOBE</i> 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</b><br> <br><b>“An amazing story, and truly inspiring. It’s even better than you’ve heard.”—Bill Gates</b><br> <br><b>NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY <i>THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW</i> • ONE OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR • BILL GATES’S HOLIDAY READING LIST • FINALIST: National Book Critics Circle’s Award In Autobiography and John Leonard Prize For Best First Book • PEN/Jean Stein Book Award • <i>Los Angeles Times</i> Book Prize</b><br> <br>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.<br> <br><b>“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?”—<i>Vogue</i></b><br><b><br>NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY <i>The Washington Post</i> •<i> O: The Oprah Magazine</i> • <i>Time</i> • NPR • <i>Good Morning America </i>• <i>San Francisco Chronicle</i> • <i>The Guardian </i>•<i> The Economist </i>• <i>Financial Times </i>•<i> Newsday</i> • <i>New York Post</i> • <i>theSkimm</i> • <i>Refinery29</i> • <i>Bloomberg</i> • <i>Self</i> • <i>Real Simple</i> •<i> Town & Country</i> • <i>Bustle</i> • <i>Paste</i> • <i>Publishers Weekly </i>•<i> Library Journal</i> • <i>LibraryReads</i> • <i>BookRiot</i> • Pamela Paul, KQED • New York Public Library</b> - (Random House, Inc.)

<b>#1 <i>NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL,</i> AND <i>BOSTON GLOBE</i> 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</b><br> <br><b>“Extraordinary . . . an act of courage and self-invention.”—<i>The New York Times</i></b><br> <br><b>NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY <i>THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW</i> • ONE OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR • BILL GATES’S HOLIDAY READING LIST • FINALIST: National Book Critics Circle’s Award In Autobiography and John Leonard Prize For Best First Book • PEN/Jean Stein Book Award • <i>Los Angeles Times</i> Book Prize</b><br> <br>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.<br> <br><b>“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?”—<i>Vogue</i></b><br><b><br>ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: <i>The Washington Post, O: The Oprah Magazine, Time,</i> NPR, <i>Good Morning America, San Francisco Chronicle, The Guardian, The Economist, Financial Times</i>,<i> Newsday, New York Post, theSkimm, Refinery29, Bloomberg, Self, Real Simple, Town & Country, Bustle, Paste, Publishers Weekly</i>,<i> Library Journal, LibraryReads, Book Riot,</i> Pamela Paul, KQED, New York Public Library</b> - (Random House, Inc.)