Becoming - Michelle Obama

Reviewer’s note:

Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her - from her childhood 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, 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 and wise, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance whose story inspires us to do aim higher but to stay true to your roots. Weaving together her childhood years, education, career, and marriage, it speaks poignantly of embracing hope as well as chasing dreams, while constantly seeking to define and redefine the meaning of life. Becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim; it is a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously towards a better self.

What resonates the most with us, are the challenges, the joys, and the deep reflection on simple and monumental moments in her life. At times her language is almost poetic, and at times it’s like you’re texting with your mom. Both styles meld perfectly together to create a beautiful story.

Book Review/Summary:

In her memoir, Michelle Obama takes great care to enumerate the roles she spent her life preparing for: Dutiful daughter. Star student. Dedicated Princeton graduate. Studious Harvard Law attendee. Diligent lawyer, and above all, a loving wife and mother. Never did any first lady ever —or even a political spouse, enter her aspirational lexicon.

While the latter part of her life is fairly known, the first third of the book honestly explains who she is, anchoring her to the role she will eventually have to play. Michelle offers the reader a highlight reel of her life by diving the book into three sections - Becoming — Me, Us, and More, detailing certain parts and zooming quickly through others.

The book, aptly titled, offers a sometimes surprisingly intimate look at her life. Beginning with her childhood years and ending with reflections on the current administration, ‘Becoming’ covers her transformation from a young overachiever to one of the most formidable political figures in recent history. It’s a notable reflection on her own shifting interiority.

When she first stepped into her high school, she felt insignificant against its gleaming façade, plagued by the question, “Am I good enough?” Reading this, I thought of how I had often felt the same way, how my self-esteem had been battered, by the inescapable perception that I was inadequate. This led me to see how people who appear invincible on the outside, at some point, feel fearful or unworthy. What Michelle demonstrates to us is that self-pity will get us nowhere. To go far in life, we need to break down the barriers that we have constructed for ourselves in moments of psychological weakness.

One of the most prominent themes of the novel is the power of having female friends and mentors. Throughout the book, she pays tribute to the women who have contributed to her. This book is a triumph of what it means to create a path for yourself in life. For someone who has been described as “the most outspoken First Lady,” Michelle cleverly steers well clear of the political controversies. She conveys her disdain for the current administration but is palpably restrained in her criticism. For all that it reveals, Becoming is more significant for what it does not.

Her words about consoling victims of tragedy brought me to tears and her comments about the opulence of the white house made me laugh out loud. In the last months of Barack’s presidency, Michelle walks us through the emotions of saying goodbye and starting anew. This, embodies a full life, one that evolves before the reader’s eyes, leaving us all to wonder what Michelle will become next. For every door that’s been opened to her, Michelle has tried to open her doors to others. She strives to urge others to fear less, to make fewer wrong assumptions, to let go of the biases and stereotypes that unnecessarily divide us. This she insists, is how individuals 'become’.

Happy Reading.