Becoming

Author: Michelle Obama
Genre: Autobiography
Type: Hardcover and e-audiobook
Source: Local Public Library (Hardcover), Audible.ca (audio)
Publisher: Crown Publishing
First Published: November 13, 2018
Opening Lines: "March 2017 - When I was a kid, my aspirations were simple. I wanted a dog. I wanted a house that had stairs in it -- two floors for one family. I wanted, for some reason, a four-door station wagon instead of the two-door Buick that was my father's pride and joy."

Book Description from GoodReads: An intimate, powerful, and inspiring memoire by the former First Lady of the United States.

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.

My Rating: 5 stars

My Review: This book was a joy to read. For years I've been a fan of Michelle Obama - I've always liked her strength, her passion to help others, her positivity and her strong devotion to her family. This book just made me appreciate her even more.

Previously, I've never simultaneously read a book in two different formats, but I was glad I did for this book. I balanced reading some chapters in the hardcover edition (when I had time to sit down), and others from the e-audiobook that Michelle Obama herself reads. While I enjoyed the pictures in the paper edition, hearing Ms. Obama read her life story to me was the icing on the proverbial cake.

She is an engaging narrator and throughout the book her warmth, humour, compassion and honesty shine through. She is the Michelle Obama you've seen in interviews and with Becoming, she brings readers into her personal triumphs, losses, insecurities and struggles from her early days as a young Black girl growing up in the southside area of Chicago, to her love of education and her years at Princeton, to meeting a fellow lawyer with a 'weird name' and her eventual role as First Lady of the United States. Readers are privy to the Obama's early years as a couple, Barack's increasing involvement in politics, parenting two daughters together, his run for the presidency of the US and their eight years living in the fish bowl that is the White House.

Michelle Obama has always seemed like a regular kinda gal to me. She's a mom, wife and daughter who just happens to be living an extraordinary life. As FLOTUS, she has lived under public scrutiny trying to balance family life with the daunting workload that she bore as First Lady. She wanted to give their children a reasonably normal childhood and use her role as First Lady to make positive changes in the country she so clearly loves. She gives readers a bird's eye look at her life in the White House - the unique experiences made available to her as well as the limitations to her freedom and I appreciate that she doesn't hold back on her opinions on some of the issues that have plagued and still plague the US.

Throughout the book Michelle Obama is well-spoken, genuine and she comes off as relatable and even inspirational as she shares personal anecdotes that showcase her fears, loves, struggles and accomplishments. Some of her anecdotes had me grinning, relating to her thoughts as a wife and mother, while several caused me to tear up as I listened to her speak about the devastation and loss her country has faced.

This is a moving, powerful and reflective book that readers, especially women and those who have ever felt unseen and ignored, will appreciate. You don't have to be a Democrat (or even an American - says this proud Canadian) to enjoy this book. If you weren't a fan of Michelle Obama's before, you will be after reading this book.