A book review of Becoming by Michelle Obama ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Why I chose this book
I’m a big fan of the Obamas, have been for a long time and I knew I had to read Becoming along with seeing Michelle Obama when she came to Austin. My friend and I got online an hour before the tickets went on sale to make sure that we were able to get tickets. I asked for the book for Christmas but I actually ended up getting gift cards for Barnes so I bought it for myself! I was very interested in getting an inside look into the lives of the Obamas.
What I liked
Everything. I fell in love with Barack all over again reading about how they met and became a family. I loved getting to know Michelle as her own person and what her background entailed. I learned so much I didn’t know about her family and her career before she became First Lady. I really loved the writing style and how well it was written. The pictures in the middle were a great touch, it was nice to see a couple of the things that were in the book in photos. I always wondered how Michelle handled all the negative things that were said about her and her family in the news. It was great to see how the family changed and the ways they stayed the same as the years passed and they became more and more prominent.
What I didn’t like
After that previous paragraph, you might say…what is there not to like? It wasn’t long enough. The book was plenty long don’t get me wrong but I really wish there had been more on their time in the White House and what is going on now. I like to think that another book will come and it will all be in there. What I really didn’t like was finishing the book and feeling so emotional. As soon as I finished and closed the book I started to cry. AJS was wondering what the heck was wrong with me and all I could say was “How did we go from this (pointing to the book) to what is going on in your country right now?”
Would I recommend it?
Absolutely. I don’t care what side of the political road you consider yourself on this book really helps you get to know the Obamas, in particular, Michelle and where she came from. It helps to understand what drove their interests and see how much they both really want to help people.
I had someone comment on my Instagram: “I won’t read the book since I don’t particularly like her but I’m glad you enjoyed it.” I think if you are similar to this person I would especially recommend it because you may be able to learn something beyond the awful things the media said about her and their family over the years!
Seeing Michelle Obama
First, I am so happy that we went. I can now say I have been in the same building/park as both the Obamas and I really hope it is not the last time. (I was at Grant Park the night of the Barack’s acceptance speech in 2008.) Rachel Ray was the moderator for the evening. I was pretty excited about this because I am a Rachel Ray fan. She opened up with some comments and let me just say she was so nervous! You could totally tell. The only thing that struck me was when she was talking about how much she loves Austin she said “Austin is a place without isms”. As a person who has lived here now for almost a year I would say that is 100% incorrect and plenty of people who went that night agree.
She discussed her childhood, answered questions from Rachel from the book. We didn’t really learn anything really new that wasn’t in the book. I loved her bits of humor scattered into the comments though. Like her quip about being a family in the White House for 8 years without even one scandal. Let that sink in ya’ll. 8 years and zero scandals. We got to understand her frame of mind at Trumps inauguration and how her and Barack are handling their lives after a Presidency. I loved that even with some quips there was zero negativity and she 100% lives to….
All that said I hope that I get to see her and Barack again at some other event in my lifetime and I look forward to reading more books written by and about the Obama family.
Have you read Becoming? Did the Becoming tour come to your city?
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