REVIEW: BECOMING, BY MICHELLE OBAMA

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.

As an iconic woman who has redefined the meaning of First Lady by her behavior, her ideals, and her ability to rise above the challenges she faced as part of the First Black Presidential Couple, Michelle Obama showed us even more as we watched their eight years in the White House. But as I read Becoming, I loved glimpsing an insider’s view of her life growing up and becoming the woman who showed us an example of how to lead and serve as a role model.

A smart and savvy woman, Michelle revealed much about how to compromise and see the best in those who criticized her, showing her own ability to perform with those qualities.

In the end of this impressive story of one woman’s journey, I liked how she left the reader with these thoughts: “For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end….

“It’s all a process, steps along a path. Becoming requires equal parts patience and rigor. Becoming is never giving up on the idea that there’s more growing to be done….

“It’s not about where you get yourself in the end. There’s power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice. And there’s grace in being willing to know and hear others. This, for me, is how we become.”

A five star read from a truly authentic woman.  Read for the 2020 Nonfiction Reading Challenge.

***