Tara Westover grew up preparing for the end of the world. She was never put in school, never taken to the doctor. She did not even have a birth certificate until she was nine years old.

At sixteen, to escape her father's radicalism and a violent older brother, Tara left home. What followed was a struggle for self-invention, a journey that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes, and the will to change it.

'It will make your heart soar' Guardian

'Jaw-dropping and inspiring, everyone should read this book' Stylist

'Absolutely superb . . . so gripping I could hardly breathe' Sophie Hannah'One of the best books I have ever read . . .unbelievably moving' Elizabeth Day 'An extraordinary story, beautifully told' Louise O'Neill

'A memoir to stand alongside the classics . . .compelling and joyous' Sunday Times

THE MULTI-MILLION COPY BESTSELLER. Selected as a book of the year by THE TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES, GUARDIAN, NEW YORK TIMES, ECONOMIST, NEW STATESMAN, VOGUE, IRISH TIMES, IRISH EXAMINER and RED MAGAZINE