Educated (Tara Westover)

2023 - 2024 Common Read

About this Resource Guide

This guide provides NKU faculty and students alike more information about this year’s Common Read, Educated by Tara Westover. The subsequent resources are suggestions and do not reflect the full range of materials that may be useful to your specific course needs. Thus, if you have questions about the Common Read or First-Year Program beyond this guide, please contact Amanda Andrews, the Coordinator of FYE Student Engagement (andrewsa7@nku.edu). And if you have any questions about obtaining more resources regarding the Common Read book or research, please contact Steely Library.

About the Book

Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Her family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when one of Tara's older brothers became violent. When another brother got himself into college, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge University. Only then would she wonder if she'd traveled too far, if there was still a way home. 

This guide was created by Maira Faisal, an NKU student who was Steely Library's Information Literacy Fellow in spring 2023.