Becoming

It was too long for my liking. It seemed good though.

the incessant need to mention every person's skin colour or parental heritage put me off. I'm not American, so maybe it's a normal occurrence there, but it made me uncomfortable.

also, i was waiting for the book to get interesting and then I realised the entire book was going to have a similar tone to the first few chapters, so I gave up.

Despite really liking Michelle Obama, I found this book way to partisan, her husband won the elections twice, lead the UasA.. why did she had so much need to explain that they were so great at it. I would have preferred a bit more of a realistic description of what is life. Not the PR version of it. .

Summary: In this autobiography, Michelle Obama recounts her experience growing up on Chicago’s Southside, getting a higher education at Princeton and Harvard, meeting Barack Obama—the man who would become her husband and the 44th president of the United States—seeking purpose in her career, becoming a mother, and taking on the role of First Lady.

When reading this book, I was struck by just how incredibly impressive Michelle Obama is: she is an intelligent, driven woman who has worked to improve the lives of others on a gigantic scale, remained dedicated to raising her daughters well and with love, supported the political career of her husband without ever losing herself, and, through it all, carried herself with grace.

So, I just finished “Becoming” by Michelle Obama, and I gotta say, it was pretty interesting. Just to be clear, I'm not really into politics at all - it's actually kinda boring to me. I picked up this book mostly ‘cause I was curious about the struggles of Black people and how Barack became the first Black president.

Honestly, I ended up really enjoying it. It's weird, but I actually got goosebumps a few times while reading - that's never happened to me before with a book! The pacing was good, and there were some nice bits of wisdom scattered throughout.

The book covers Michelle's whole journey from childhood to leaving the White House as First Lady. It was pretty interesting to read about her struggles and what America was like back then. The main theme seems to be Michelle constantly asking herself, “Am I good enough?” She had to prove herself to everyone because she was a Black woman.

A couple things bugged me though. Sometimes it felt like she was harping on about race a bit too much. I get that it's important, but it got a little repetitive for me. There were some other parts that dragged on too.

Overall though, it was a good read. I'd recommend it even if you're not into politics. I'd give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

It took a WHILE mostly because I annotated so much, but it was very interesting and meaningful. The epilogue was satisfying not just because I finished the book but because it wraps up her message nicely.

3.5*

I wished for a bit more of her own perspective or daily life in the White House, but overall, strongly written.

I loved this book. It was very well written and I really enjoyed learning about Michelle's life. It also brought me back to a lot of historic moments and left me nostalgic for the Obama presidency. Politics aside, they're good people and I miss them. I will probably re-read this someday.

This book is incredible. Is it wrong to say that reading this was somewhat redemptive? I loved reading through her stories and experiences. It gave space for me to reflect through my own background, political ideologies, and why I do what I do. Definitely worthy of 5 stars.

I miss them so much.

Inspiring, and motivating to listening her talk!

I'll be upfront in my review here: I am not a democrat. I was not old enough to vote in the first election that Obama won, and for his second one, I did not vote for him. That being said, I have always found it insanely important to read books for both sides of the aisle, if only to humanize the people that we see in the media every single day. It's so easy to forget that the people in our White House, and leading our nation, are just regular human beings.

I really loved this book and Michelle has lived a full life filled with amazing people and community around her. She speaks often on how we are all very much the same. We have the same homes, hopes for our kids, dreams for our careers. The main reason I can't give this 5 stars is because of her divisive language, mostly at the end of the book, that paints republicans as the bad guys.

I understand that a lot of the stress about her children, safety, hatred pointed towards her family, and specifically her husband, came from the Republican side of the aisle. I commend her on the grace that she maintains throughout the book when talking about these issues. But it is harmful to see her point Republicans at the whole, rather than a few people who are responsible for those actions.

As a conservative, I rarely agreed with the politics of Obamas, but I deeply respect their love for people and their decisions made as parents to protect their girls. I am not a fan of trump at all, but I think most politicians, like most people, are just trying to help people in the way they think will yield the best results - how we get there is the main divide.

I wish this book had ended with the same grace and love as the first 90% but it just felt too politically charged toward one party rather than the few bullies with the loudest voices.

4.5*

Man, where do I begin. This book taught me so much about Michelle as we as her husband. She was vulnerable, honest, and caring. I always adored her and now I have gained a wealth of respect as well. Her upbringing assisted in making her into the woman that we see today. This is a must read book for everyone especially women and young ladies.

Great insights to what she had to go through.

AUDIOBOOK

This book was incredible! I laughed, I cried, I reflected, I learned, and I was left in awe at the possibilities of life.

I choose this book on a whim hours after having LASIK eye surgery done and needing something to listen to, and thankfully this was a long enough book to get me through my recovery. I have always been interested in understanding the workings of our government and life inside the white house, especially since watching the TV show Scandal.

This book was everything I hoped for and so much more! I loved Michelle's authenticity throughout! She speaks straight to the point, no BS, and she's not afraid to disagree with her husband. I loved hearing about their romance, trips to meet the Queen of England, and how she used her platform as FLOTUS.

I could rave on and on about the wonders of this book, but I don't want to spoil it. Go read it and allow it to impact you!

Highly recommend this book!

It was marvelous to have Michelle Obama's voice in my sun-filled kitchen or in my living room after dark. After listening to both her book and Barrack's Promised Land (as well as David Litt's book about being part of his team) I feel like I know the time period much better and benefited from listening to them closely together. There's not a lot of overlap as all three books are very different but the sense of setting/context felt more complete.

Se lit comme un roman, j'ai adoré suivre l'évolution de Michelle. J'aurais aimédécouvrir plus de passages sur les liens avec les Biden.

There's so much that people, American or not, can learn from Michelle's kindness, faith, and character

The confidence is her words is what made me look up to her more. I enjoyed the journey in this book.

What a riveting memoir. I'm so glad to read through this amazing memoir that captivated me from the beginning to the end. While I thoroughly enjoyed both Michelle's and Barack's memoirs, I prefer Michelle's because of the pacing, pictures, and storytelling. I also get to see a side of Barack we don't usually get into mainstream media. Still, I highly recommend reading both memoirs to get clearer pictures of the previous American government leaders.

If you need me, I'll be in a puddle of my own tears.

I highly recommend the audio book for this one. It's incredible to hear Michelle speaking her truth and sharing her life, in her own words. I loved it! May have converted me back to reading memoirs!

3.5