If You're Curious About These Questions...
You should listen to this audiobook
- Are you curious about how someone who never stepped foot in a classroom until age 17 managed to earn a PhD from the University of Cambridge?
- Have you ever wondered what it truly costs to break away from a strict survivalist upbringing and discover your own version of the truth?
- What if the very thing that sets you free—an education—is also the one thing that could cost you your relationship with your family forever?
Listen to Educated — Free Audiobook
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Key Takeaways from Educated
- Understand the profound challenges of growing up completely off the grid, and discover how Tara Westover navigated a childhood devoid of formal schooling, doctors, and even a birth certificate.
- Learn how an older sibling's bold decision to pursue a formal education can break the cycle of isolation, just as Tyler's departure planted the seed of curiosity in young Tara.
- Discover the harsh realities of overcoming deep-rooted religious fanaticism and parental paranoia, including a father's belief that public schools are socialist brainwashing facilities.
- Find out how taking small steps toward financial independence, like starting a local babysitting business, can provide life-changing exposure to the outside world.
- Explore the remarkable power of self-education, and see how a determined child can use discarded textbooks and public library visits to overcome a complete lack of formal teaching.
Educated — Full Chapter Overview
Chapter 1: Recommendation
Chapter 2: Tara Westover was raised on a farm, and her Mormon family viewed formal schooling in unconventional ways.
Chapter 3: The Westover siblings were largely self-taught, and they encouraged one another to eventually pursue schooling together.
Chapter 4: Tara’s first job introduced her to the wider world.
Chapter 5: Tara’s family for years refused medical care and routinely ignored serious dangers.
Chapter 6: Tara needed to pass the ACT exams before she could gain proper college admission.
Chapter 7: Upon arriving at college, Tara felt alienated and struggled with her coursework.
Chapter 8: Confronting health and financial worries, Tara had to learn to accept help over time.
Chapter 9: As Tara advanced in her schooling, she recognized her father’s fixations, even as he endured a serious accident.
Chapter 10: Tara secured a remarkable research opportunity that led to an even more extraordinary graduate program.
Chapter 11: At Trinity College, Tara finally felt she belonged, yet unsettling news soon arrived from home as well.
Chapter 12: As Tara’s studies thrived, her relationships with her family deteriorated.
Chapter 13: Tara had to make a painful choice to secure and complete her doctorate.
Educated Summary & Overview
Educated (2018) is the memoir of Tara Westover, who grew up in a Mormon family in rural Idaho, and, despite never attending school, was able to earn a PhD from the University of Cambridge. However, she had to pay a high price to achieve her academic dreams. Indeed, she lost her family in the process.
Who Should Listen to Educated?
- Readers who love astonishing memoirs
- Anyone interested in a peek inside a Mormon family
- Teachers and anyone curious about higher education
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