¡°If [J. D.] Vance¡¯s memoir offered street-heroin-grade drama, [Tara] Westover¡¯s is carfentanil, the stuff that tranquilizes elephants. The extremity of Westover¡¯s upbringing emerges gradually through her telling, which only makes the telling more alluring and harrowing. . . . By the end, Westover has somehow managed not only to capture her unsurpassably exceptional upbringing, but to make her current situation seem not so exceptional at all, and resonant for many others.¡±-The New York Times Book Review
¡°Living proof that some people are flat-out, boots-always-laced-up indomitable . . . a heartbreaking, heartwarming, best-in-years memoir about striding beyond the limitations of birth and environment into a better life.¡±-USA Today
¡°Riveting . . . Westover brings readers deep into this world, a milieu usually hidden from outsiders. . . . Her story is remarkable, as each extreme anecdote described in tidy prose attests.¡±-The Economist
¡°A coming-of-age memoir reminiscent of The Glass Castle.¡±-O: The Oprah Magazine
¡°Incredibly thought-provoking . . . so much more than a memoir about a woman who graduated college without a formal education. It is about a woman who must learn how to learn.¡±-The Harvard Crimson
¡°Heart-wrenching . . . a beautiful testament to the power of education to open eyes and change lives.¡±-Amy Chua, The New York Times
¡°Propulsive . . . Despite the singularity of her childhood, the questions her book poses are universal: How much of ourselves should we give to those we love? And how much must we betray them to grow up?¡±-Vogue