The author, Tara Westover, and her siblings did not go to school, four of them did not have birth certificates and they did not have medical and school records. They only knew mountain life in Idaho.

Tara's father's family had been living at Buck Peak's base for 50 years. Her dad always recited the Bible to them. Her paternal grandmother lived down the hill and her maternal grandmother lived fifteen miles south. Her dad and paternal grandmother argued all the time. Tara's dad considered milk to be linked with the devil and banned it from entering their place, so she started going to her paternal grandma's to have milk. Her paternal grandparents went away in winter since her grandpa is too old for Idaho's winters. Encouraged by her grandma, Tara plans to run away from home with them without letting her parents know.