I used to roof hay barns for my father. It's dangerous work. Writing is much better. — Tara Westover Copy Share Image
All my father's stories were about our mountain, our valley, our jagged little patch of Idaho. — Tara Westover Copy Share Image
My parents would say to me, 'You can teach yourself anything better than someone else can teach it to you.' That was… — Tara Westover Copy Share Image
My loyalty to my father had increased in proportion to the miles between us. — Tara Westover Copy Share Image
I choose not to see my parents because I value myself - and they didn't value me or my mind. — Tara Westover Copy Share Image
I had been raised in the mountains of Idaho by a father who distrusted many of the institutions that people take for… — Tara Westover Copy Share Image
My mother was a midwife and a herbalist, so we would go on these long walks, looking for yarrow or rosehips or… — Tara Westover Copy Share Image
I had a mental breakdown while doing my Ph.D. at Cambridge, soon after I cut off contact with my parents, and I… — Tara Westover Copy Share Image
We'd had books in my house growing up, but we had never had anything like lectures. I had never written an essay… — Tara Westover Copy Share Image
I have a theory that all abuse, no matter what kind of abuse it is, is foremost an assault on the mind. — Tara Westover Copy Share Image
I get up when I feel like getting up. That's the deal I've made with myself: I can stay in bed as long as… — Tara Westover Copy Share Image
Anger can be a good thing. It's a mechanism that your brain uses to get you out of situations that are bad for you.… — Tara Westover Copy Share Image
I felt like I needed to come to terms with the decision I'd made to let go of my family. What do you do… — Tara Westover Copy Share Image
I think you can change your belief, but sometimes your behavior takes a lot longer. — Tara Westover Copy Share Image
I'm no longer religious, but the Bible fascinates me. Hardly anyone reads it anymore, but it's got everything: it's a book of poetry, it's… — Tara Westover Copy Share Image
I didn't even have a birth certificate until I was 9 years old, which meant that, according to the state of Idaho and the… — Tara Westover Copy Share Image
I had to be - I was in school for probably three or four years before I began taking courses in history and political… — Tara Westover Copy Share Image
