A revealing memoir about life before and during the office of US president Obama
The book Becoming by Michelle Obama has been a powerhouse bestseller for years.
This memoir’s been on my reading list since it was published by Penguin Books Ltd in late 2018.
However, a documentary about the Becoming book tour has also been released this year on Netflix.
I recently got hold of the audiobook version, read by the former First Lady of the United States of America herself.
It was an eye-opening account of a woman who is much more than what is portrayed on stage and in the media.
She has a fighting spirit and much to teach us as fellow writers who are planning, writing, polishing or publishing an autobiography, memoir, biography or other life-story project.
Let’s take a look…
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What is Michelle Obama’s Becoming about?
Michelle Obama begins her memoir by introducing us to her parents and older brother.
They lived on the second floor of her music teacher great aunt’s apartment in Chicago’s South Side.
Michelle and her brother shared a small room that after many years was eventually partitioned to give some privacy.
Her mother stayed at home while the children were young and her father worked for decades at the city’s water filtration plant.
However, over the years he suffered from Multiple Sclerosis, which eventually robbed him of the ability to walk but not his dedication to always turn up to work.
Michelle’s working-class upbringing was tight on money but rich in family and love.
For instance, she details how her parents campaigned and sacrificed to make sure her and her brother got a good education and went to university.
Eventually Michelle landed a top-paying lawyer’s job in the city overseeing an intern: Barack Obama.
The pair didn’t exactly hit it off first-up but go on to face many trials, campaigns, and challenges.
Certainly, the biggest being the first African American family to claim the White House.
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Highlights of Obama’s Becoming
Michelle Obama’s book has many jaw-dropping moments about life inside the White House.
For example, this includes having top chefs cook meals, a private gym on the top floor, bullet-proof glass windows and security at every turn.
I especially liked the description of the President’s motorcade, which must accompany Barack everywhere.
It includes 40-50 vehicles, a counter-assault team, a doctor, armored vehicles and a suitcase with the button to fire nuclear weapons.
On a more serious note, Michelle eloquently and powerfully details what it is like growing up a black woman.
Specifically how she found expectations were higher and how she had to work harder than white counterparts.
Likewise, she talks about countless times she has been the sole woman, let alone a black woman, in a packed room or auditorium.
Finally, Becoming gives amazing insight into Michelle’s husband and their family.
We learn that Barack loves basketball, writes in a messy office ‘cave’, had an unconventional upbringing across hemispheres, and passionately believes in the people power of democracy.
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Obama’s lesson for writers
I loved Michelle Obama’s Becoming because it has taught me many things as a writer.
Firstly that even the former First Lady of the United States sometimes doubts herself and abilities.
I feel this includes writing but that she knows such worries are a small price to pay to tell her story and to inspire just one person to reach a little harder, aim a bit higher and change their destiny.
Her’s is a message of hope to young people from the ghettos to the White House and everywhere in between.
A second thing I liked about Becoming was that it has no airs and graces.
That is to say Michelle talks to us on our level using language that is inclusive and clear.
For example, there are no showy attempts to be academic or worldly.
And this is mirrored in the audiobook when she delivers her story with a calm and measured tone.
The final takeaway from this book is to write about life’s light and shade.
In other words, life comes with the highs and the lows.
Michelle does not shy away from hard topics such as racism, bullying, death and marital strains.
Consequently, she shares with us her heartbreak, thoughts and life lessons.
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Final say: Becoming by Michelle Obama
I loved Becoming for many reasons.
Not only because Michelle Obama is one of the most powerful women in the world but because she is so relatable.
Certainly, this book is not so much her story but a way to show she cares for others trying to make their way in life.
Above all she knows the world can be better, must be better, and this is her way to help inspire change.
Books and words have always had the ability to bring change throughout history.
Therefore I hope those who read Becoming feel this message too.
“Do we settle for the world as it is, or do we work for the world as it should be?”
Happy writing and reading!
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This article first appeared on the website Forever Young Autobiographies.com.
