An intimate, powerful, and inspiring memoir by the former First Lady of the United States
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In a life filled with meaning and 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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I thought she did an really good job of showing us the human side of who she and Barack were. If a buddy of yours grew up to become the president or first spouse, and it was sort of a fairy tale, a book like this would show the underside, or the real side, of the process.
Just like Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance, this book shows us how some Americans "make it" from the ground up, but that it's not easy. Making it is a quicksilver process, requiring such ingredients as intelligence, timing, hard work, luck, happenstance....it's scary how many things can impede the chances of good, smart kids. Michelle Obama chronicles how she managed to make it, and she deserved her good fortune, but she would be the first to tell you a lot of it wasn't up to her. Which makes you sad about all the kids left behind. Or let's be honest: all the kids who are murdered before they can fulfill their potential. Obama is frank with kids who're struggling against the odds, and in this as in so many other issues, she doesn't get down and helpless over the burdens. She encourages us to accept what is and work around it. I found that empowering.
Her description of meeting and getting to know, then falling in love with, Barack, is really interesting. It was NOT love at first sight! They became friends, and then sweethearts, and then, over time, deeply in love. We get to see what Barack is like--truly, that's the stellar aspect of this book, it's so candid! Michelle isn't afraid to complain and speak honestly; she struggles as a young adult and a working mother, then as a political spouse. You really see the sausage-works of political campaigns.
The book wasn't gripping, but it was interesting. I've always thought she was super-smart and clever, and that seems true, but when she mentions she's not overly introspective, I found that hard to believe. However, by the end of the book, I wondered if it was true, because she minimized some events in her life that would have been compelling had she gone deeper. She was the first / only black woman to do X, Y, and Z. I feel quite sure she ran into a hell of a lot more obstacles than she shares, and in that sense, she kind of minimizes her astronomical climb. How many kids from the hood get into Princeton and Harvard, and then succeed as well as she did? And when she got hired at the white-shoe law firm, what did that really feel like? Ah, well. A missed opportunity.
There is so much to like about this book, the little vignettes about life in the White House, for example. The policy issues were less interesting; the human issues more so. All in all, a worthwhile and enjoyable read.
