Books Like Educated: Raw Memoirs That Inspire, Challenge, and Empower

Tara Westover’s Edu­cat­ed took the world by storm with its grip­ping tale of resilience, self-dis­cov­ery, and the trans­for­ma­tive pow­er of edu­ca­tion. If you were cap­ti­vat­ed by Westover’s jour­ney from a sur­vival­ist upbring­ing to earn­ing a PhD from Cam­bridge, you’re not alone. Her sto­ry is more than just a memoir—it’s a tes­ta­ment to the human spir­it.

If you’re crav­ing more reads that mir­ror the emo­tion­al depth, per­son­al trans­for­ma­tion, and thought-pro­vok­ing themes of Edu­cat­ed, here are sev­er­al must-reads to add to your list—along with why they’re so com­pelling.

1. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Why it’s sim­i­lar:
Like Edu­cat­ed, The Glass Cas­tle is a mem­oir of a child­hood marked by pover­ty, insta­bil­i­ty, and uncon­ven­tion­al par­ent­ing. Jean­nette Walls recounts grow­ing up with eccen­tric, neglect­ful par­ents who resist­ed soci­etal norms. Despite the chaos, she carves out her own path to suc­cess.

Key high­lights:

• A deeply mov­ing nar­ra­tive of resilience.
• Explores themes of fam­i­ly, for­give­ness, and self-reliance.
• Poignant sto­ry­telling that bal­ances heart­break and hope.

Why you should read it:
It offers a raw, unfil­tered look at grow­ing up in adver­si­ty and shows how one can emerge stronger, more empa­thet­ic, and deter­mined to break cycles.

2. Educating Esmé by Esmé Raji Codell

Why it’s sim­i­lar:
Though not a per­son­al trau­ma mem­oir, this book delves into the pow­er of edu­ca­tion to shape lives. Esmé’s ener­getic, pas­sion­ate voice gives a refresh­ing look at teach­ing under chal­leng­ing con­di­tions.

Key high­lights:

• Real diary entries from a teacher’s first year.
• Offers insight into the pub­lic school sys­tem.
• Shows the impor­tance of belief in stu­dents and one­self.

Why you should read it:
If Edu­cat­ed made you val­ue learn­ing and the pow­er of one individual’s jour­ney, this book rein­forces that through a teacher’s lens.

3. I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

Why it’s sim­i­lar:
Malala’s sto­ry is anoth­er pow­er­ful tes­ta­ment to the strength of a young woman’s voice and the pow­er of edu­ca­tion. Raised in Pak­istan, she sur­vived an attack by the Tal­iban sim­ply for advo­cat­ing for girls’ school­ing.

Key high­lights:

• Explores glob­al issues of edu­ca­tion and wom­en’s rights.
• A coura­geous per­son­al nar­ra­tive.
• Inspir­ing mes­sage of advo­ca­cy and peace.

Why you should read it:
It broad­ens your per­spec­tive on glob­al edu­ca­tion inequal­i­ty and show­cas­es courage in the face of vio­lence and oppres­sion.

4. Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon

Why it’s sim­i­lar:
Laymon’s mem­oir explores the com­plex­i­ties of fam­i­ly, race, body image, and abuse. It’s a bru­tal­ly hon­est exam­i­na­tion of grow­ing up Black in Amer­i­ca, told with lyri­cal prose and deep intro­spec­tion.

Key high­lights:

• Tack­les issues of iden­ti­ty, shame, and vul­ner­a­bil­i­ty.
• Emo­tion­al­ly intense and intel­lec­tu­al­ly pro­found.
• Beau­ti­ful­ly writ­ten and thought-pro­vok­ing.

Why you should read it:
Like Edu­cat­ed, this book chal­lenges read­ers to con­front uncom­fort­able truths and appre­ci­ate the trans­for­ma­tive jour­ney toward self-under­stand­ing.

5. The Liars’ Club by Mary Karr

Why it’s sim­i­lar:
This mem­oir of a trou­bled child­hood in a Texas town blends dark humor with unflinch­ing hon­esty. Mary Karr’s sto­ry­telling paints vivid pic­tures of trau­ma, men­tal ill­ness, and famil­ial love.

Key high­lights:

• Pio­neer­ing work in the mem­oir genre.
• Bal­ances bru­tal truths with wit and poet­ic lan­guage.
• Deeply per­son­al yet wide­ly relat­able.

Why you should read it:
It’s a clas­sic in per­son­al nar­ra­tive writ­ing and will appeal to read­ers who admire emo­tion­al can­dor and lit­er­ary artistry.

Why Read These Memoirs?

Books like Edu­cat­ed:

• Inspire resilience – They show how indi­vid­u­als can rise above cir­cum­stances and cre­ate their own futures.
• Chal­lenge per­spec­tives – These sto­ries make us reflect on priv­i­lege, access, and the sys­tems we live with­in.
• Fos­ter empa­thy – Step­ping into some­one else’s life allows us to feel their joys and pains, which broad­ens our under­stand­ing of human­i­ty.
• Encour­age intro­spec­tion – Read­ers often walk away with new insights into their own lives, val­ues, and beliefs.

Final Thoughts

If Edu­cat­ed left a last­ing impres­sion on you, these mem­oirs will stir your soul just as deeply. Each offers a pow­er­ful nar­ra­tive of strug­gle, growth, and the unbreak­able human spir­it. Whether you’re drawn to sto­ries of over­com­ing trau­ma, the pur­suit of knowl­edge, or find­ing one’s voice against the odds, these books are a rich, emo­tion­al jour­ney worth tak­ing.