Brainstorm Series: An Evening with Tara Westover

Free tickets will be available through The Center Box Office at jhcenterforthearts.org on March 13, 2026 at 10:00 AM.

Tara Westover is an American author. Born in Idaho to a father opposed to public education, she never attended school. An older brother taught her to read, and after that her education was erratic and haphazard, with most of her days spent working in her father’s junkyard or stewing herbs for her mother. She was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. After that first encounter with education, she pursued learning for a decade, graduating magna cum laude from Brigham Young University in 2008 and subsequently winning a Gates Cambridge Scholarship. 

In 2018, she published her memoir, “Educated,” which explores her struggle to reconcile her desire for education and autonomy with her desire to be loyal to her family. “Educated” debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list and remained on the list for more than two years. The New York Times named “Educated” one of the 10 Best Books of 2018, and the American Booksellers Association voted it the Nonfiction Book of the Year. Bill Gates listed it as one of his favorite books of the year, saying, “It’s even better than you’ve heard.”

The Brainstorm Series is a collaboration between Teton County Library, The Jackson Hole News&Guide, and The Center. Funding for the series is provided by The Teton County Library Foundation & Friends.