#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 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 - 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