A determined woman who reconstructs her identity through education while navigating the trauma of an abusive and isolated upbringing.

The first to leave for college; he acts as a mentor and catalyst for Tara’s own pursuit of education. III. Major Themes

A devout, paranoid survivalist who manages a scrapyard. His suspected bipolar disorder and radical beliefs dictate the family's extreme lifestyle.

Westover often highlights the difficulty of reconciling different family members' conflicting memories of the same traumatic events. IV. Critical Reception

Despite the cultural shock and financial strain, she earned a Gates Cambridge Scholarship and eventually completed a PhD in history at Cambridge University. II. Key Figures

Inspired by an older brother who went to college, Westover taught herself enough algebra and grammar to pass the ACT and enter Brigham Young University at age 17.

Born the youngest of seven children to fundamentalist parents, Westover spent her childhood preparing for the apocalypse and working in her father’s junkyard.

Report: Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover Published in February 2018, Educated is a transformative memoir that follows Tara Westover's journey from growing up in a survivalist family in the mountains of Idaho to earning a PhD from Cambridge University.