Dr. Tara Westover is a fucking American Hero.

Seriously, she was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Biden. Her life, as detailed in this book, is an incredibly heartbreaking story of forgiveness, faith, and how not to be a good parent. How there are no criminal or civil convictions resulting from this book is beyond us, but maybe no one wanted to press charges.

Her traumatic and unique life story running from growing up as the daughter of a fundamentalist doomsday prepper in rural America to the hallowed halls of some of the top academic institutions in the world is nothing short of inspiring. This is not a happy book, it is a very sad book, but it is also a book about what happens when you place your faith in the right things, what happens when you place it in the wrong things, and how catastrophically hard it can be to discern the difference between the two.

Education is a powerful tool and this book might be one of the best cases for it. We cried a lot and we liked this book. If you’re ready to go through some rough shit and see the sunlight on the other side then this book is for you.

BUY THIS BOOK