Becoming in 2021 Big Book Summer Reading Challenge

Sep 06, 2020 Elinor rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewed, z-2020-bigbook-summer-challenge

This book was a chance to get to know Michelle Obama, graciously voicing her opinions in this memoir from birth up until the end of her second term as First Lady.

This book is insightful on so many levels it’s difficult to describe. It is a timeline deftly peppered with sometimes amusing, sometimes heart-breaking stories.

It’s about « Miche » and all she has come to represent: an African American woman, a successful student from a working-class background, a feminist who believes in the young an ...more

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Feb 19, 2020 Karen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: best-of-the-best, oprah-bookclub

I purchased this book when it first came out in November 2018. It has been on my TBR ever since. Waiting for the exact right moment in my life when I needed it most. Several months ago my sister Cynthia downloaded the Audible version and not knowing that I already purchased the book she sent me the link to listen for free! I decided January 31, 2020 was that moment! The depressing state of our country was and continues to get me down. So I put in my ear buds and listened and read along to this m ...more

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Dec 12, 2018 Linda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: hardback, nonfiction, autobiography, chcpl, 2018, government, history, memoir, politics, presidents

Wow, wow, wow!
To grow up on the South Side of Chicago, living on the second floor of a relative's house to spend eight years in the most famous address in the U.S. and do it with grace and dignity and not lose one's sense of self.
I always felt Michelle Obama was an intelligent woman who was determined her daughters have a "normal" life while growing up in the White House. This philosophy actually started with Michelle's parents.
This book is a love story. Michelle's love of learning, of her par ...more

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Aug 26, 2019 Shaye Miller rated it it was amazing

Shelves: big-book-summer-2019

I L-O-V-E-D this autobiography of Michelle Obama! And waiting for months and months for the availability of the audiobook was well worth it. It’s not like I’m surprised that it was well-written, but it was quite inspirational and gave me all the feels as I learned about the life of Michelle Obama from childhood on up. In fact, I was all in before the Preface was finished. I sobbed through the death of Michelle’s father, was intrigued to hear her openly name specific mistakes she felt she made ov ...more

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Dec 07, 2020 Sue Dix rated it it was amazing

I have not read a more warm, moving memoir. I purchased this when it first came out, but couldn’t bring myself to read it in that political climate. I’m glad I waited because it pairs perfectly with A Promised Land. Becoming highlights all of the good and important initiatives that Michelle Obama championed and highlights the human side of living in the White House. This gave me all the feels.

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Nov 08, 2022 Amelia rated it it was amazing

Michelle Obama is widely known for being an influential first lady, but one would never know her potential. She started like all of us, raised in a cramped apartment on Euclid Avenue, on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It was portrayed as “ghetto” on the news, but Michelle didn’t perceive it that way. She had a happy, innocent childhood, surrounded by the bustle of her wide family with her ever-protectant brother, Craig.
Michelle is transparent that her parent’s unconditional love, sacrifice Michelle Obama is widely known for being an influential first lady, but one would never know her potential. She started like all of us, raised in a cramped apartment on Euclid Avenue, on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It was portrayed as “ghetto” on the news, but Michelle didn’t perceive it that way. She had a happy, innocent childhood, surrounded by the bustle of her wide family with her ever-protectant brother, Craig.
Michelle is transparent that her parent’s unconditional love, sacrifice, and suffering have made her the person she is today. Her mom was a stay-at-home mom until she got a job as a bank assistant when Michelle entered High School. Her dad, who worked in a water plant, had multiple sclerosis for decades, a condition whose body painfully deteriorated decades until he couldn’t walk; however, he never complained and rarely missed a day of work in the water plant.

The first recurring theme I want to outline is perfectly presented in this quote: “Now I think it’s one of the most useless questions an adult can ask a child—What do you want to be when you grow up? As if growing up is finite. As if at some point you become something and that’s the end” (37). Instead, you ask a child—What do you want to contribute to the world? Until she met Barack, Michelle’s whole life had followed the status quo, and it took her a long time to realize what inspired her. That passion to impact the world was always there with her. She was going in the wrong direction, believing it was the right choice, but she realized it wasn’t when she harnessed the power of her passion. Since then, impact has been a recurring theme in Becoming, as seen in conversations between Michelle and Barack: “[...] Barack and I often continued a conversation we’d been having in one form or another for years—about impact, about how and where each one of us could make a difference [...]” (275).

Another theme is to live life to the fullest. “The lesson there was simple: Life is short and not to be wasted” (301). You can die at any second, so you can’t waste your time doing something you don’t enjoy.

Michelle lived with the weight of what people thought of her for a long time, especially when becoming the first lady. At one point, the media would unnecessarily comment on what she wore on a daily basis. She learned how essential it was to have a wardrobe stylist, planning her outfits in advance, a hairdresser, and a makeup artist when she never expected to be someone who hired others to maintain her image. She learned that women are unequally judged more than men. She learned that no matter what she chooses, someone will criticize her. She overcame this, expressing that it doesn’t matter what people think of you but what you think of them.

In conclusion, anybody who reads this book will be inspired. Anybody who loves autobiographies like me will enjoy this book greatly. Although this book lagged or had unnecessary information sometimes, especially during the college part, the good outweighed this. Michelle didn’t write this deeply reflective book to show her achievements but for the reader to see their potential. Everyone has a purpose for the world. What’s yours? ...more

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Sep 05, 2019 Victoria rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-star, audible-owned-books

It took me most of this year to finish this book on Audible because I haven’t spent enough time in the car. At times I felt like it would never end but I felt like I was riding along with a great girlfriend in the car, so that wasn’t all bad. I’ve always been a fan of Michelle Obama, and this certainly cemented that. I most enjoyed her candor mixed with her continued grace and dignity (“When they go low...”) but without sacrificing herself in the process. I cherish and miss the “realness” of the ...more

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Dec 20, 2019 Suzan Jackson rated it it was amazing

Shelves: good-audio-books, coming-of-age, favorites, non-fiction, memoir, inspirational, history, biography

The warm, honest, funny life story of an ordinary yet extraordinary woman who is strong, intelligent, compassionate, and real. Outstanding on audio, read by the author. Read my full review & listen to a sample:

https://bookbybook.blogspot.com/2019/... ...more

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Jun 07, 2021 Cheriee Weichel rated it really liked it

Shelves: memoir, politics

I finished my second big book: Becoming by Michelle Obama.
After finishing this I sat down with my partner to talk about the successes and failures of the Obama presidency. I wish they could have accomplished more for ordinary people. Was it their blackness or the fact that they were democrats that made the republicans so opposed to everything they wanted to accomplish?

I was mostly fascinated by Michelle Obama's story of growing up and achieving her goals. While her parents might not have been ...more

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