A 16-year old American boy tells what life is like for him at home and school, and reveals the workings of his own mind. What does a boy in his teens think and feel about his teachers, parents, friends and acquaintances?

The multi-million copy bestseller and an extraordinary memoir about the transformative power of education THE MULTI-MILLION COPY BESTSELLER A BETWEEN THE COVERS PICK Selected as a book of the year by AMAZON, THE TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES, GUARDIAN, NEW YORK TIMES, ECONOMIST, NEW STATESMAN, VOGUE, IRISH TIMES, IRISH EXAMINER and RED MAGAZINE 'One of the best books I have ever read . . . unbelievably moving' Elizabeth Day 'An extraordinary story, beautifully told' Louise O'Neill 'A memoir to stand alongside the classics . . . compelling and joyous' Sunday Times Tara Westover grew up preparing for the end of the world. She was never put in school, never taken to the doctor. She did not even have a birth certificate until she was nine years old. At sixteen, to escape her father's radicalism and a violent older brother, Tara left home. What followed was a struggle for self-invention, a journey that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers- the perspective to see one's life through new eyes, and the will to change it. 'It will make your heart soar' Guardian 'Jaw-dropping and inspiring, everyone should read this book' Stylist 'Absolutely superb . . . so gripping I could hardly breathe' Sophie Hannah

Details

ISBN13: 9780099511021
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 400
Edition:
Publication Date: 19 Nov 2018
Publisher: Cornerstone
Publication City, Country: London, United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 198(H)x130(L)x25(W)271
Weight (gm): 271

Author Biography

Tara Westover was born in rural Idaho. She studied history at Brigham Young University and upon graduation was awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship. She received an MPhil in intellectual history from Trinity College, Cambridge in 2009, and a PhD in the same subject in 2014.

Reviews

A memoir to stand alongside classics by the likes of Jeanette Winterson and Lorna Sage . . . a compelling and ultimately joyous account of self-determination * Sunday Times *
[A] fascinating, jaw-dropping memoir * Observer *
[A] superb memoir… Westover’s journey from a remote corner of the American west to one of the world’s grandest seats of learning is extraordinary . . . Her story, of fighting to be herself, is as old as the hills she came from, but Westover gives us such a fresh, absorbing take that it deserves to bring her own private Idaho into the bestseller lists, book groups and, eventually, cinemas. * The Times *
Brilliantly recounts her journey towards knowledge and enlightenment * Guardian *

An amazing story, and truly inspiring. The kind of book everyone will enjoy. IT’S EVEN BETTER THAN YOU’VE HEARD.

Her story is remarkable, as each extreme anecdote described in tidy prose attests. That someone who grew up in her circumstances could achieve as much as she has is astonishing . . . The central tension she wrestles with throughout her book is how to be true to herself without alienating her family. Her upbringing was extraordinary, but that struggle is not. * The Economist *
This memoir [is] one of the wisest accounts of family love and betrayal that I’ve read * Mail on Sunday *
[An] astonishing autobiography
Heartbreaking in its honesty...[an] intelligent and powerful memoir * Literary Review *
An astonishing and uplifting story about the transformative power of education * Mail on Sunday, 2018 Cultural Highlights *