By Tara Westover

Most have already heard of this and likely read it. Tara was raised in a seriously whackadoodle Mormon family. I am guessing the actual Mormon Church cringes when these loonies get shoved under their umbrella. There is so much in this book…strength of spirit, resilience, the bizarre ties of family bonds (sometimes, why…truly, why?), the innate almost spiritual desire to learn despite all odds, the blind, passionate faith that education will set you free. It’s an amazing life story. One can criticize this insane family all day long, but somehow their circus of a life produced some very smart, driven, kind people as well as some terribly damaged, broken people. Always makes my mind wonder about how extreme adversity pushes some to excel and overcome while it destroys others (see later book on list). One must ask if these kids had been enrolled in school, would they have developed this insatiable passion for education as their escape? It’s a fair question. And for a woman who read nothing but The Bible and The Book of Mormon until she was like 15, she sure had a well-developed love of reading and vocabulary and more. Speaks highly of the words contained therein.