An intimate, powerful, and inspiring memoir by the former First Lady of the United States #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • WATCH THE EMMY-NOMINATED NETFLIX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • NAACP IMAGE AWARD WINNER • ONE OF ESSENCE’S 50 MOST IMPACTFUL BLACK BOOKS OF THE PAST 50 YEARS In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most … accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America—the first African American to serve in that role—she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments. Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare.
In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same.
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As we approach another presidential contest, it’s a great book to remind oneself of the differences between the Obamas and the Trumps. Your politics may shade how you view those differences, but there is no doubt they are real and should energize everyone to vote.
Michele Obama, not surprisingly, takes us deep into her life, the ordinary and the extraordinary. And she shares her yearning for normalcy as she and her family make history. For those of us who did not have to overcome segregation, poverty and racism, it is revealing to learn what it is like from her perspective and makes the achivements and the character of every member of this family even more honorable.
I want everyone to read this book. Michelle Obama is truly inspiring and she tells her story with honesty, courage, grace and gentle humour.
My husband and I listened to the audio version of BECOMING on a long road trip, with Michelle Obama as narrator. We both loved it. Her story of growing up in a working class family living in a marginal neighborhood in urban Chicago is inspirational. She is introspective and thoughtful and determined and passionate. Whatever your politics might be, the book is worth a listen–if only to hear her thoughts on race relations in America and what it’s like to live in the glass house/prison/castle that we know as the White House.
What an amazing woman!!!!! So authentic.
“Becoming” by Michelle Obama is a must read for all. It is relatable and is a perfect reflection of the American Dream where hard work, honesty, determination, and service to others lead to success and fulfillment.
I loved listening to this audio book being read by Michelle Obama. I like her values and how she describes everything she went through with her family and helped a lot of people. I couldn’t wait to turn on the audio book after doing things where I wasn’t allowed to listen to the audio book. She is a loving compassionate person and the epilogue is something I would like to read over many times.
Listening to Michelle Obama narrate her story was like a spending a long weekend with a best friend, talking about life, loves, motherhood, balance, joy, and purpose. It was long walks in the woods, evenings by the fire with wine and laughter, and the kind of hard truths that help us find our own. As odd as it may be, given that I am a stranger to her, I feel as though Michelle and I are friends now, and will be for a long time.
Michelle Obama’s memoir was engaging and insightful. It was an intimate portrait of Mrs. Obama’s life from childhood through her time in the White House. By the time she got to the presidential election, I felt as though I knew her, I understood her beliefs and motivations, and I was joining in her triumphs and tribulations.
Michelle Obama tells her own story in a way that highlights the struggles and more so the resiliance and strength of all people, especially minorities, in America. Her great insights give you a new view of the world and her tales of the White House shed an informative light on what it is like to live in the public eye, especially in a seat of such high responsibility. This is one of the best biographies I’ve ever read!
It’s not her life story, necessarily.
It is in the telling of her story.
Michelle Obama offers a look back on her life from childhood to first lady in the White House with a clarity of seeing herself and her life’s events with powerful insight. This book is not just a biography, it works as a call of empowerment to reach higher.
Michelle Obama comes from a modest upbringing and has achieved so much in her life, but when she was introduced to us as a country, we knew her as Barack Obama’s wife. There is so much more to her. I loved learning the new things I didn’t know about her, as well as re-living the old things we all lived through together as a nation, but through her unique perspective. Becoming is a powerful and poignant story about Michelle Obama’s journey in becoming unapologetically Michelle Obama.
I am one of the 175,000 people who bought Becoming Michelle Obama in its first week of publication. I am not going to review the book–it feels unnecessary. But I am going to talk about my personal reaction.
My interest in the book is part of a long-held interest in the First Ladies dating to the creation of my redwork quilt Remember the Ladies. I read books on the president’s wives and individual biographies and memoirs while developing my patterns. I find the role of First Lady fascinating and at times even familiar.
The president’s spouse is thrust into the limelight. The layers of expectations and the deluge of attention and isolation, criticism and idolation, are unsought and unwelcome. The president’s spouse is not elected and garners no salary and yet is expected to represent the country as an ambassador, hostess, and representative. The president’s spouse cannot choose the family’s home. Their spouse works long hours and travels a lot.
Michelle honed telling her story on the campaign trail, a way to forge bonds with diverse groups of people. On the surface, Michelle has nothing in common with people like me. But I felt a connection over and over.
Michelle’s dad was a blue-collar city employee with MS. My dad was an auto mechanic who worked in his dad’s gas station. He lucked into a job in the auto industry as an experimental mechanic. My mom was crippled with Psoriatic Arthritis.
Michelle grew up in a multi-family home, shared with her aunt and uncle. I grew up in a multi-family home, shared with my father’s siblings and his parents. When I was five my grandmother moved in with my family. Michelle shared a bedroom with her brother, separated by a wall and enclosed with folding doors. My grandmother and I had side by side bedrooms, once a larger room that was divided, and enclosed with folding doors!
Michelle had piano lessons. So did I. She has a brother. So do I.
Michelle had children in her thirties. I had my son in my thirties.
When Michelle’s husband went into politics it meant he was away much of the time, leaving her to juggle a career, running the home, and raising their kids. My husband took a job where he spent four hours a day commuting and was home only a few hours a day. He frequently traveled across the states and several times a year was abroad. I juggled the homefront and raised our son.
Michelle’s husband’s career left her with difficult choices between stability for the family and being together. She found herself thrust into the spotlight, but also in his shadow with her own accomplishments sidelined to her role as Barack’s wife. My husband’s career as a minister meant frequent moves, some dictated, with no choice of the house we lived in or the school district our child was in. At gatherings, people surrounded him and ignored me. It was expected that I attend events and take on leadership and act as a figurehead. I often did not meet expectations as I tried to be true to myself.
When Michelle wrote that she and her husband had always been sounding boards for each other and how Barack had perfected the ability to set boundaries between work and family, being fully present even when they “lived above the shop” my respect grew deeper than ever. Living in a church-owned home with a husband on-call 24-7, parishioners’ happiness dictating housing needs and raises, it was hard to have boundaries between our family life and my husband’s career. When churches were in crisis it affected us all deeply.
Michelle Robinson Obama may strike you as someone charmed and glamorous. But, I related to her. I got it.
After all, she grew up in a divided bedroom with folding doors.
Outstanding.
I loved this so much. It’s not a political book like I’d expected. It’s about finding and becoming oneself, but it’s also about discovering true love and the realities of trying to start and raise a family. Women everywhere will be inspired by this book.
Easy to read and full of interesting details. This traces Michelle Obama’s story from its beginnings in the south side of Chicago through to the end of Barack Obama’s second term as president. One hell of a journey to share! I enjoyed getting to know more about this intelligent woman, so committed to community service, who has already achieved so much with her life. I also loved, of course, her candid consideration of Barack over the years. Bonus points for an intriguing look into living in the White House for eight years, and being constantly protected by the Secret Service. (I don’t think I could have hacked it, but there are certainly bonuses!)
I appreciated how it ended. She is honest about how discouraging it felt to have such a very different person elected to succeed Barack Obama as president. But she also revisits a constant theme of both her life and Barack’s: Hope. Optimism. Working for the future. (What more can we do?)
Well worth reading, if you’re at all interested.
From the very first few pages, what struck me the most about this book is how relatable it was. Mrs. Obama was the first lady, yes, but when she was talking about being alone in her house following the presidency, of making her own toast and the emotions she described doing it – it was utterly, surprisingly relatable. She’s a woman – just a woman – who, yes, experienced some things most of us never will – but also a mother, husband, daughter, sister.
Her journey from childhood to First Lady is described in an inspirational story told in a way that gives you a peak behind the closed doors of her life. It shares her pain, joy, and a witty sense of humor of events that took place. I highly recommend it to anyone.
From a tiny apartment on the Southside of Chicago in a house owned by her great-aunt, to Ivy League schools, Princeton and Harvard Law, from a prestigious law firm to the CEO of community outreach organizations and a hospital vice president in charge of reaching out to underserved populations, to the White House as First Lady, Michele Obama tells of her angst, her happiest times, her fears, and opens her heart and mind to the American public! It is an awesome work, spellbinding, and bingeworthy. I won’t even try to highlight any particular points because her “voice” is absolutely fantastic! I would only spoil it for you. To my mind it is a must read for women from their teens through old age, and for any men who truly want to understand the struggles of a minority woman who proved to the world that coming from the wrong neighborhood doesn’t mean you can’t succeed!
Loved it!
Inspirational and Informative on how a woman is constantly evolving to become her best self. Mrs. Obama did a wonderful job in demonstrating how opportunities can make a difference in a life. Highly recommended !