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Educated

A Memoir

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Educated

By: Tara Westover
Narrated by: Julia Whelan
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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER WITH FOUR MILLION COPIES SOLD • “A heartbreaking, heartwarming, best-in-years memoir about striding beyond the limitations of birth and environment into a better life.”—USA Today

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

• #6 New York Times Readers Pick for the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century
• One of Barack Obama’s Favorite Books of the Year
• Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, National Book Critics Circle Award, and PEN/Jean Stein Book Award
• Named a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post, O: The Oprah Magazine, Time, NPR, Good Morning America, San Francisco Chronicle, The Guardian, and many more

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
Religious Women
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Critics' reviews

“Westover has somehow managed not only to capture her unsurpassably exceptional upbringing, but to make her current situation seem not so exceptional at all, and resonant for many others.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Westover is a keen and honest guide to the difficulties of filial love, and to the enchantment of embracing a life of the mind.”—The New Yorker

“Heart-wrenching . . . a beautiful testament to the power of education to open eyes and change lives.”—Amy Chua, The New York Times Book Review

“A coming-of-age memoir reminiscent of The Glass Castle.”—O: The Oprah Magazine

“Westover’s one-of-a-kind memoir is about the shaping of a mind. . . . In briskly paced prose, she evokes a childhood that completely defined her. Yet it was also, she gradually sensed, deforming her.”—The Atlantic

“Tara Westover is living proof that some people are flat-out, boots-always-laced-up indomitable. Her new book, Educated, is a heartbreaking, heartwarming, best-in-years memoir about striding beyond the limitations of birth and environment into a better life. . . . ★★★★ out of four.”—USA Today

“[Educated] left me speechless with wonder. [Westover’s] lyrical prose is mesmerizing, as is her personal story, growing up in a family in which girls were supposed to aspire only to become wives—and in which coveting an education was considered sinful. Her journey will surprise and inspire men and women alike.”—Refinery29

“Riveting . . . Westover brings readers deep into this world, a milieu usually hidden from outsiders. . . . Her story is remarkable, as each extreme anecdote described in tidy prose attests.”—The Economist

“A subtle, nuanced study of how dysfunction of any kind can be normalized even within the most conventional family structure, and of the damage such containment can do.”—Financial Times

“Whether narrating scenes of fury and violence or evoking rural landscapes or tortured self-analysis, Westover writes with uncommon intelligence and grace. . . . One of the most improbable and fascinating journeys I’ve read in recent years.”—Newsday
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Die Sprecherin erinnert an eine künstliche Vorlesestimme, als würde jedes Wort einzeln ohne Zusammenhang gelesen. Die Geschichte ist im Kontrast dazu faszinierend und emotional. Absolut hörenswert.

Tolle Geschichte, mechanische Stimme

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Hat mir sehr gut gefallen. Ein Einblick in eine andere Welt, der auch zum Nachdenken über die eigenen familiären Beziehungen anregt.

Für mich 4 1/2 Sterne. Einen halben Stern Abzug, weil ich mir mit einer derart beinharten öffentlichen Abrechnung mit der eigenen Familie - die scheinbar selbst ein Stück in der Öffentlichkeit steht (Taras Mutter ist offensichtlich eine erfolgreiche Unternehmerin und eine kleine Berühmtheit in Ihrer Szene) - ein bisschen schwer tue, auch wenn die Schilderungen durchaus glaubwürdig sind!

Interessant und kurzweilig

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I could not stop listening to it. Tara shares such intimate moments of her life and shows how education transforms a person. Very, very powerful.

Powerful

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Noch 8 Stunden und 9 Minuten darf ich diese wundervolle, mitreißende Reise machen, auf die mich diese traumhaft schöne Erzählung mitnimmt. Die Autorin beschreibt ihre wechselvolle Geschichte so lebendig, präzise und auf kuriose Weise gleichermaßen emotional und distanziert, so dass ich völlig gefangenen bin in diesem fremden, faszinierenden Leben. Ein riesiges Lob an die Sprecherin, die nie zu viel und niemals zu wenig Teil der Erzählung ist.

Poetisch, kraftvoll, wunderschön.

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Along the story, I learned many stuff that I didn't know about. The story, her feeling, her description s, stayed with me for days and made me rethink and reflect on my experiences.

Eye opening and moving

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