Becoming

Becoming by Michelle Obama (2018) 426 pages

Four hundred pages never flew by so quickly! This memoir by Michelle Obama begins with her childhood on the South Side of Chicago and continues through the end of her husband's second presidential term. I had known some details of her life from her speeches during Democratic conventions, as well as from the media during her time as First Lady, but this telling of her story made me feel even closer to her. An amazing woman with an amazing family...

Becoming

Becoming by Michelle Obama  426 pp.

This will be brief since it was already blogged by Christa, Patrick, & Kara and they said everything I was going to just read theirs. I enjoyed it thoroughly and was occasionally brought to a tear or two. (The story of the burned serviceman trying to stand up and salute really got to me.) I especially enjoyed the audiobook read by Michelle Obama. If possible, I have gained even more respect for the Obamas after reading this.

Becoming

Becoming by Michelle Obama, 426 pages

Michelle Obama's book is a joy to read. It is an even greater joy to listen to the former first lady read the audiobook to you. You get the same story either way, but listening to Mrs. Obama read the book, you get the feeling that she is telling the story to you, her good friend. She is an amazing woman who has led a great life, from her parents' apartment in Chicago to Princeton and Harvard Law, to her work at Sidley Austin where she met Harvard Law student Barack Obama.
In recounting their years together, Obama does a great job of balancing the personal and public  / professional.
A truly engaging book and a great account of the recent past.

Becoming

Becoming by Michelle Obama, 426 pages

To paraphrase Cher, if I could turn back time, if I could find a way...I'd go back and get this book on UCPL's Best Books of 2018 list. Because this honest and revealing memoir deserves to be on there.

Over the course of this book, Obama gives an unflinching look at her life growing up on the south side of Chicago, going to Princeton and Harvard, becoming (and then becoming jaded with being) a corporate lawyer, falling in love with a laid-back guy from Hawaii, and becoming the First Lady. Throughout it all, she offers deep, honest soul-searching reflection on the roller coaster of her life to this point. It's so refreshing to hear her spell out her worries as a mother, her frustrations as a woman, her determination to be authentic on any stage, no matter how large. It's free of political analysis, even as she details her work on campaign trails and at political events, and her discussion of her husband's work as President are only mentioned where they specifically impact her initiatives or their family life.

All in all, this was a wonderful memoir that I can't praise enough. I also particularly loved the audiobook, read by Obama herself, which gave it added depth and the sense that she was telling this story just to me. There just isn't enough "wow" to describe this book. I loved it.