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After showing who was boss at the inauguration, her book showed up on my queue and I was not upset. I’ve been waiting to read it for about 4 months and it was worth the wait! Becoming by THE Dr. Michelle Obama was basically like reading #BlackGirlMagic page by page. I love her even more than before I read this book and I highly recommend that you add it to your queue.

Favorite Parts

First, as someone who has no idea what’s happening in life and who needs help, I loved that at pivotal times in Obama’s life, she sought folks who were well-connected and smarter than her to give her insight.

Second is a part that annoyed me. I cringed when I saw how she had to take the backseat in her career in order to support her husband. She did so many incredible things and I wonder how many more incredible things she could have done If she hadn’t taken a chill pill and supported her partner. She did, however, still found space when she could to continue building and initiating while her husband was in politics.

Third favorite part is that she made motherhood work for her. I grew up in a world where the woman was subservient, quiet, docile, and meek—always secondary or tertiary to man and kids. I was never ok with this and am still not ok with this. Even where I live in China, I see the same thing. However, Dr. Obama weaved motherhood, her own identity/being, career, wife, and community member together to make a life of her own. She sought assistance when she needed it so that she didn’t have to sacrifice one area for another. Balance is key if a woman is to have many hats and I saw how to do this in this book.

Also, a fourth favorite part for free: Her badassery seemed approachable. Any Black woman can be a badass by leverage her influence and how she’s been made in order to be unstoppable. Dr. Michelle Obama is unstoppable.

Why You Need to Read This Book

—Dr. Obama is a real woman and could be any of us.

—Life is hard for everyone and she sat in her grief and disappointment and anger at injustice. She didn’t try to move through it in order to accomplish more. This is a lesson for us all.

—She did what she could to make the world a better place when her neighborhood was small and when her neighborhood was the whole world. We all need to do this as well.

Description from Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee and Books

An intimate, powerful, and inspiring memoir by the former First Lady of the United States

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER – WATCH THE NETFLIX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY – OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK – NAACP IMAGE AWARD WINNER

In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America–the first African American to serve in that role–she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments. Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare.

In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her–from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it–in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations–and whose story inspires us to do the same.

Author Bio from Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee and Books

Michelle Robinson Obama served as First Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, Mrs. Obama started her career as an attorney at the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin, where she met her future husband, Barack Obama. She later worked in the Chicago mayor’s office, at the University of Chicago, and at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Mrs. Obama also founded the Chicago chapter of Public Allies, an organization that prepares young people for careers in public service. The Obamas currently live in Washington, DC, and have two daughters, Malia and Sasha.

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