Becoming (edition 2018)

Easy fast read.

Besides writing of her amazing journey from Chicago to the White House, Michelle has captured an amazing writing voice. Excellent for all. A bi-partisan read! ( )

Look, there’s just something about being the woman who looked at Barack Obama with a skeptical eyebrow raised but then, like so many of us, was won over (and, uniquely, won him over). Best line on that subject here, after she talks about the rusted-out car he was driving as a third-year law student: “It occurred to me, too, that quite possibly the man would never make any money.” Second best: “All this inborn confidence was admirable, of course, but honestly, try living with it.” ( )

This is the former First Lady's autobiography published late last year. This is not primarily a political memoir, but a story of how Michelle Robinson rose from modest beginnings as the daughter of a water filtration plant worker in Chicago's South Side to being First Lady of the USA. Put in slightly longer term historical perspective, some of her great great grandparents were slaves, so from slavery to the White House in five generations. There is very much of a theme here of raising expectations - of African Americans having high expectations of themselves and each other and not accepting any glass ceiling, challenging stereotypes. On the political side, one is reminded how rapid was Barack Obama's political rise, from being elected a member of the Illinois Senate in 1997, largely unknown outside his state, via the US Senate to the presidency in barely over a decade. From Michelle's point of view, the White House years were about her making her own mark in a range of issues from girls' education, healthy eating to supporting military veterans and their families; and, at a family level, trying to allow her daughters as much chance as possible to have a normal childhood and adolescence. Written in a simple, accessible and very human way, this is a very good read. ( )

Interesting, educational, funny, and thought-provoking. I couldn't ask for more.
At turns relatable, at turns extraordinary, always well-written. ( )