Becoming

One of the best books ever written. Also, the audiobook is phenomenal. Told without harshness or ugliness but still completely honest and to the point. Sharing vulnerable moments and yet still keeping a privacy. I feel completely uplifted by her once again, as I did when she was still FLOTUS.

It was long but worth it. Many hours to listen and read but, again, worth it.

I firmly believe she has left a legacy as strong as her husband's.

Does anyone else feel like they are personal friends with Michelle after reading this book? Or maybe that is more a wish then anything. I loved hearing her story of becoming. Gaining insight into life as FLOTUS and being constantly in the public eye. She is intelligent, articulate and warm. I'm not even American and I miss her sigh.

Listened to the audiobook and LOVED it. May be the best audiobook memoir I've listened to thus far. Michelle Obama is an amazing, strong, intelligent, caring, sensitive, independent, ambitious, creative woman – plus a whole other suitcase of redeeming qualities I haven't unpacked here. All of this shines through in her book and all the more so in the lilt of her unwavering voice. I highly recommend listening to this to learn more about her childhood, the “backstage” of elections and the white house, what it's like to be married to the president and raise children in the white house, how to maintain sanity and grace on an international stage, and how to stay grounded and thankful through it all. Her story is incredible and she's an inspiration through and through. And a beautiful writer! Highly recommend.

For me, becoming isn't about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn't end.

I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook. Books read by the author are always fun to listen to anyway. But seeing behind the curtain a bit, hearing about how she and Barack met and started dating and how he proposed... that was really fun.

She is not her husband :-D
I enjoy her story of her childhood. I love the courting. The proposal was delicious :-D
I have laughed, I have cried, and I love this woman :-)
I loved to hear how she sees her husband.
And I'll stop this review, because otherwise I'll talk about politics.

This book touched me in the most basic of human ways. Showed me that I hadn't reached my potential, and that I am capable of even more becoming. She's a blessing.

Absolutely wonderful. I only got to listen to the first half read by Michelle before I ran over my library loan, but by then I could read the second half in her voice. What a treat to enter her world through her eyes and learn the backstory to so many well known events. She's so thoughtful and insightful and has a way of distilling complex matters into a perfect sentence or line that's pure art.

5 stars Rating memoirs, I rarely take the writing style into account as I find it unfair to knock off a star for something the authors aren't ‘professionally trained for'. However, Michelle Obama's prose is practically flawless. Becoming is not only about her experience as the first black First Lady and her time in the White House where she exposes the less glamorous side of being the President's wife, the pressure that's put on your entire family and the lack of freedom to just be in the moment. She also delves into her past and exposes her childhood and the sacrifices her parents had to make to give their children a good education and ensure they'd have a better life.Michelle Obama is highly intelligent. She knows it and she owns it, and I think that that's a very powerful message.

Leading up the 2008 and 2012 elections, I learned more than I ever expected about Barack Obama. Somehow in all that time, Michelle Obama played the classic wife role, away from the spotlight unless it intersected her husband. Her story is so much more driven by grit, inspiration and an overwhelming drive to improve things for other people. This was a refreshing look into what public service can and should look like - even when it's split between the public and private sector.

Leading up the 2008 and 2012 elections, I learned more than I ever expected about Barack Obama. Somehow in all that time, Michelle Obama played the classic wife role, away from the spotlight unless it intersected her husband. Her story is so much more driven by grit, inspiration and an overwhelming drive to improve things for other people. This was a refreshing look into what public service can and should look like - even when it's split between the public and private sector.

I love Michelle Obama. She's smart and introspective in a way that I hope I can be someday. Of course it didn't hurt that her relationship with Barack reminds me of my own relationship. There's a part in the book somewhere (sorry I don't have the exact quote) where Barack is staring off into the distance and Michelle asks him what he's thinking about, and he says “the economy”. That's basically what happens at my house. Also the way they push each other to be better versions of themselves. Michelle and Obama are truly #relationshipgoals! And, not that I would ever be surprised by this, but reading this book you will see just how stark the difference is between Obama and Trump. Though he made some mistakes, Obama was a very good president and cared about the American people and America and the world. I miss the Obamas so much!

I loved this book. It was like chatting with a wise older friend about her life experiences (and I only read the words on the pages - if I can hear her this well through paper, I imagine hearing her perform the audio would be absolutely fantastic). She and her husband were so busy, and did so many things in such a short period of time. I'm always amazed by this when I learn more about presidencies.

What I actually want to say about this book though, is that Michelle writes so beautifully about grief. Obviously, this is not a book about grief, but there are so many moments - in between her writing about her family growing up on the South Side of Chicago, and about overcoming self-doubt, and working her way through two Ivy League universities and a law firm before swerving, and the exhausting behind-the-scenes of being a First Family - where you feel this undercurrent of grief. Her personal grief (and that of her mother and brother) at the loss of her father, who had MS that went untreated for many years; the end to his suffering and that feeling of living in a vacuum, going through the motions because nothing, nothing makes any sense. Grief for herself and her husband as she talks about the struggle for the birth of her daughters and the miscarriage that preceded them. Grief for the country - for children who did not survive school shootings, for children who were gunned down in the streets of Chicago, for black lives lost to senseless violence, for the racism our country continues to carry.

Her writing made me feel a little better about this place I'm in, though she doesn't mince words. But she also writes so beautifully about hope. There's always a lens of optimism, even through her dread of what her husband's being president would do to their family - optimism about what they could do better to help others reach their full potential and to serve people who need a hand, and to give kids opportunities through learning and feeling like the people around them care about their success. I am never going to be a high-powered career woman, but her life is an inspiration to me - that there are people who dream of making the world better, and then do it, knowing that change takes time, and choosing to take those incremental steps.

I am very glad that this is the first book I've finished in 2019. I recommend my every friend to read this book and learn how to live from this great person.

What a great, great, great book. Loved listening to this in her voice.

Me surpreendi com muito da história que a gnt presume que sabe nem sei porquê. Ela conta da família e meios restritos, da eterna pergunta “eu sou boa o suficiente?” e busca pelo seu lugar, compara com Barack “vamos mudar o lugar “, conta das filhas in vitro e da horta de 260m2 que construiu na casa branca buscando a bandeira contra obesidade infantil. Fala do fascínio com a 👑 e das gafes que cometeu. É uma mulher.

Wish she had included more details of the experiences (example the turbulent airplane ride, or like she did when talking about the rainbow lighting on the white house)

An unfortunate consequence of the Goodreads rating system is having to rate a book four stars and then, in the same keystroke, loudly proclaim everyone should read this! I'm going to use an analogy inspired by the book itself: one of Obama's top priorities as First Lady was to address the childhood obesity epidemic; part of that approach was planting a garden at the White House and encouraging healthy eating. Becoming is healthy, nutritious, necessary eating. I can't claim the book “was amazing” any more than I could in good conscience claim that a given carrot or apple was amazing—but veggies and fruits are an important part of my day, crème brûlée is not, so I only choose the best I can get. Becoming is at the very high end of the best of that best.

Michelle Robinson was lucky. Kind, smart, hardworking parents with a commitment to their children; other encouraging adults in her life; chance opportunities that worked out well. She acknowledges this, recognizing also that there are thousands of others just like her who've had a different roll of the dice. She uses that knowledge to motivate her toward always encouraging others and offering them a hand up. Childhood education, mentoring, encouragement, focused attention; they matter so, so much.

But that's just a small part of the book. There's duty, humility, kindness, HOPE. Living a fulfilling life. Finding meaning. Self-awareness. Decency, joie de vivre, powerful love. Responsibility. It is impossible to read this in 2018 without feeling pain on each page (or, on audiobook, each minute); impossible not to contrast her words against the putrescence we now have in the White House. But that is not her fault, and not the point of her book. Obama's message is one of encouragement, of uplifting. Yes, of hope. She is a gifted writer and a superb human being. Please read her book, and please pass it on.

An inspirational read! Michelle Obama's life story is fascinating, a true American story. I enjoyed her perspective on politics and on being in the White House.

I would like to give this book 11 stars, but will settle for 5.

I found the author very likable and genuine. I highly recommend getting the audiobook read by the author. It was fun to hear the backstory of a presidential couple, and get a bit of insight behind the scenes.