St. Bonaventure University has selected “Educated: A Memoir” by Dr. Tara Westover as its All Bonaventure Reads (ABR) book for 2018-19.

“Educated” is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty, and of the grief that comes from severing one’s closest ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story 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.

The university will welcome Westover to campus Wednesday, Sept. 26, to deliver a keynote address to members of the Class of 2022. The talk will be open to the public and will be held at 7 p.m. in the Reilly Center Arena.

As part of the All Bonaventure Reads initiative, first-year students at St. Bonaventure will receive a copy of “Educated” during Orientation and be asked to read the book and write an essay reflecting on it as their first college assignment. Students will be engaged in conversations about the book’s themes in their first-year seminar course, SBU 101, and various campuswide events during the upcoming academic year.

As their first official college assignment, members of St. Bonaventure’s Class of 2022 have been asked to read this year’s All Bonaventure Reads selection and then write a reflection on it.

Winners of the Provost's Essay Contest will be invited to a dinner with author Tara Westover and have their work published.

[ Provost's Letter to New Students ]

• Learn more about Tara Westover
•  Follow @tarawestover on Twitter
• Author's website
• Campus Keynote: Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018, 7 p.m., Reilly Center Arena; public invited

"Tara Westover’s one-of-a-kind memoir is about the shaping of a mind…In briskly paced prose, she evokes a childhood that completely defined her. Yet it was also, she gradually sensed, deforming her."