Educated
A Memoir
by Tara Westover, Orah Danḳner · first published 2018
79% recommend21% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Gripping memoir of growing up in a rural, poor, fundamentalist survivalist family and pursuing education against the odds. Valued for its page-turning story, its resilience, and its view of how radical beliefs form.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Educated is a 2018 memoir by the American author Tara Westover. Westover recounts overcoming her survivalist Mormon family in order to go to college, and emphasizes the importance of education in enlarging her world. She details her journey from her isolated life in the mountains of Idaho to completing a PhD program in history at Cambridge University. She started college at the age of 17 having had no formal education. She explores her struggle to reconcile her desire to learn with the world she inhabited with her father.
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…With the new Witcher show coming out on Netflix I finally went back and beat The Witcher 3 then read the first book, The Last Wish. It was enjoyable enough that I want to keep going with the series. Educated by Tara Westover - Was convinced by Bill Gate's blog this is worthwhile. I'm a teacher so it wasn't hard to convince me. Robot Builder's Bonanza by Gordon McComb - I've been asked to teach a robotics…
on “Ask HN: Books you plan to read in 2020?” ↗Three standouts for me this year: Educated - Tara Westover: Perhaps the best memoir I have ever read. Killing Commendatore - Haruki Murakami. Japanese mystical fiction. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing - Hank Green. A really fun page-turner
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗The best books that I read this year were Bad Blood by John Carreyrou (this book is about Theranos and is absolutely insane, it reads like a thriller) Educated by Tara Westover (this is a fascinating memoir about a woman who was raised by fundamentalists and "escaped" to BYU) The Undoing Proect by Michael Lewis (about the relationship between Daniel Kahneman…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗…Rosling is fantastic about the real state of the world. How the Internet Happened (2018) by Brian McCullough is a fantastic read about the history of the internet from first internet bubble to the iPhone. Educated (2018) by Tara Westover is an amazing autobiography. Enlightenment Now (2018) by Steven Pinker is pretty good, even if he doesn't know that much about the actual enlightenment. Autonomy (2018) by Lawrence…
on “Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?” ↗…legendary division. Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke - How to make decisions under uncertainty. Superforecasting by Philip Tetlock and Dan M. Gardner - Insights into better prediction and decision-making. Educated by Tara Westover - A memoir about resilience and education. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain - A raw look at the life of a chef. Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin - A biography of…
on “Creating a social photo frame from scratch” ↗Educated by Tara Westover. A really wild story I couldn't put down after the first 3 pages. A must-read, esp. For HN readers.
on “Ask HN: What is the best thing you read in 2024?” ↗"Educated" — Tara Westover
on “Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?” ↗I'll recommend Tara Westover's Educated to anyone. Such a good book.
on “Ask HN: Recommend a book that would cure my boredom” ↗The Design of Everyday Things makes me rethink every user interaction or problem I face, and not just at work. Every time I open a door, I begin to think about that experience. Recently, Educated by Tara Westover, and in the past The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls, both have taught me to approach individuals with the true ignorance of their lives that I have. You don't know where people come from…
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗“Design Is a Job” by Mike Monteiro. “Educated: A Memoir” by Tara Westover. The audiobook version of “The Martian” by Andy Weir is also great. I also listen to a number of audiobooks about self-compassion and positive parenting.
on “Ask HN: Which audiobooks did/do you like?” ↗-Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Steven Pinker -Educated By Tara Westover -Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World — and Why Things Are Better Than You Think — Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, and Anna Rosling Ronnlund -The Moment of Lift: How Empowering…
on “The Only Four Books Bill Gates Has Rated Five Stars” ↗Hugely matters even from one block to the next - https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2019/06/raj-chett... As for the American women Vs Saudi women question check out Tara Westover's book Educated (which Gates has also recommended). We are all usually and blissfully unaware of things we don't see even if they are happening right next door.
on “Where you are born is more predictive of your future than any other factor” ↗…> After I got sober, it took me a little over a year to go a single day without wishing for a drink, but it was more than nine years before my craving to get high abated. —and science. Before that: "Educated: A Memoir" (Tara Westover) Recommend. A good break from typical non-fiction books: easy to read, sometimes thrilling, and emotional. Before that: "The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America"…
on “Ask HN: What Are You Reading?” ↗I thought Educated by Tara Westover was a fascinating look at how people grow to have radical views when they're surrounded by people who hold those views (In Westover's family's case, survivalism, extreme Mormonism, and…
on “Ask HN: Favorite Nonfiction Books of 2019?” ↗Educated by Tara Westover. This account of growing up in the US paints a picture of the hurdles and self determination needed to come out alive/functional/sane/educated from a rural, poor, religious family.
on “Ask HN: What book bit, stung and shook you deeply?” ↗