Tara Westover memoir readers will get a follow-up this spring. Nearly a decade after the breakout success of “Educated,” Westover will release “Brothers and Sisters” on April 13, according to the publisher.
Random House said the new book revisits the tumult that followed her 2018 debut, which chronicled her upbringing as the youngest of seven in a Mormon survivalist household in Idaho, the alleged physical abuse by an older brother, and her eventual separation from her family. “Educated” spent more than two years on The New York Times nonfiction bestseller list, was a National Book Critics Circle awards finalist in two categories, and drew praise from Bill Gates and former President Barack Obama, who both named it among their favorite books of 2018.
Tara Westover memoir explores family memory
In “Brothers and Sisters,” Westover examines how her parents challenged her recollections and how some siblings, who had once affirmed parts of her account, later denied them. The publisher described the book as a meditation on how families hold memories, how someone can know you are telling the truth yet still say you are lying, and ultimately what it means to grow up and outlive the story that shaped you.
Westover, who turns 40 later this month, enrolled at Brigham Young University on scholarship before earning a doctorate in intellectual history from Trinity College, University of Cambridge. In 2021, President Joe Biden awarded her the National Humanities Medal, recognizing her as an example of how the humanities can help set people and the nation free.
In 2021, President Joe Biden awarded her the National Humanities Medal, recognizing her as an example of how the humanities can help set people and the nation free.
The National Humanities Medal, recognizing her as an example of how the humanities can help set people and the nation free, places her among other notable American cultural figures sometimes featured in our American Culture Quiz.
