Educated

Barack Obama Former USA PresidentAs 2018 draws to a close, I’m continuing a favorite tradition of mine and sharing my year-end lists. It gives me a moment to pause and reflect on the year through the books I found most thought-provoking, inspiring, or just plain loved. It also gives me a chance to highlight talented authors – some who are household names and others who you may not have heard of before. Here’s my best of 2018 list. (Source)

Bill Gates CEO/MicrosoftTara never went to school or visited a doctor until she left home at 17. I never thought I’d relate to a story about growing up in a Mormon survivalist household, but she’s such a good writer that she got me to reflect on my own life while reading about her extreme childhood. Melinda and I loved this memoir of a young woman whose thirst for learning was so strong that she ended up getting a Ph.D. from Cambridge University. (Source)

Alexander Stubb If you read or listen to only one book this summer, this is it. Bloody brilliant! Every word, every sentence. Rarely do I go through a book with such a rollecoaster of emotion, from love to hate. Thank you for sharing ⁦@tarawestover⁩ #Educated https://t.co/GqLaqlcWMp (Source)

Devi Sridhar Finally read @tarawestover amazing book #Educated. Can strongly recommend it https://t.co/N0gRd0h9oY (Source)

Nikki Haley Just finished reading “Educated”.This was an amazing book that shows the role culture plays in a person’s life & the importance of an education.@tarawestover personal account of no formal education to receiving a PhD from Cambridge is extraordinary.Inspiring & touching read! https://t.co/pIxUMtRXsp (Source)

Stefania Giannini "I think education is really just a process of self-discovery—of developing a sense of self and what you think. I think of [it] as this great mechanism of connecting and equalizing.” Says @tarawestover in her book #Educated picked up by @BillGates summer basket https://t.co/CQP5yELIAv (Source)

Anant Jain It’s an amazing memoir of growing up as a survivalist in the mountains of Idaho and stepping into a classroom for the first time as a seventeen-year-old. (Source)

Elizabeth Day This is one of the best books that I’ve read in the last decade. Quite apart from the extraordinary story of her life, it is so beautifully written. (Source)

Laurie Hertzel This was a true coming-of-age memoir about tenacity and the transformative power of education, but it was also about the pull of family and the need for love. (Source)