One of the hottest memoirs of the year at Content Bookstore (and, I suspect, at bookstores all over the country) is Educated by Tara Westover. I read this book before it was published (I got an advance reader copy/ARC) and knew right away based on the amazing story and the quality of the writing that it would be a popular book.

I’ve been recommending this book to everyone who is looking for a good read, especially to people who like to read memoirs. The book covers some weighty topics so I often suggest people follow this book by reading something funny and lighthearted (like the novel The Vacationers by Emma Straub.)

Educated follows the life of a young woman, Tara Westover, who grew in a survivalist family lived very much off the grid in the mountains of Idaho. Westover was homeschooled – well, sort of – she certainly learned a lot about life but did not get the kind of education her peers were getting in school. Westover ends up educating herself and finds her way to Harvard and Cambridge – far away from home and her family.

Here’s the mini-review of Educated that I wrote as a “shelf talker” at Content. What’s a shelf talker? Basically it’s a bookseller recommendation that we write up on a little card and place next to our favorite books.

Here’s my shelf talker review: