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Although I had mentioned some books in my previous posts, I noticed that there is no specific post under the ‘books’ category of my site.

When I saw the book of Michelle Obama on the shelves last year, I had said to myself: ‘I must read this’. I like autobiogaphies; they being an accumulation of real-life experiences from within that you can benefit from and that you can find something from yourselves. ‘Becoming’ is an autobiography written by Michelle Obama, whom I like and appreciate for several reasons.

On the eve of the American elections and as ‘Black Lives Matter’ movements all around the world still continue, I strongly suggest that you read ‘Becoming’ by Michelle Obama to understand what it means to be a President and to be an African American in the United States.

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Besides having served as First Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, Michelle Obama has been a successful lawyer as a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School. She had started her career at a Chicago law firm where she met her future husband, Barack Obama. She had also been active in community development projects like preparing young people for careers in public service when she worked at Chicago mayor’s office. She had launched ‘Let Girls Learn‘, a U.S. government initiative aimed at helping adolescent girls all over the world have access to a quality education to reach their full potential. Regarding ‘Let Girls Learn’, education camps and programs had been held especially in African countries.

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While she was First Lady, Michelle Obama had also been a good example to the American society with her family life, her support to her husband and the way she has raised their two daughters, Malia and Sasha. She also designed a garden at the White House where she grew vegetables for healthy living. She started the ‘Let’s Move‘ initiative in the US, which was also supported by President Barack Obama then, to help to reduce the rising childhood obesity rates in the country by ensuring that every family has access to healthy, affordable food and by helping children become physically more active. She tells about her efforts for the health of American people in detail in his book. (Photos below: ‘Becoming’)

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She tells about many other things in her memoir plainly and sincerely. Her childhood, the way she was brought up, the sacrifices her parents made to raise her, her struggles to succeed in life as an African American girl, her marriage, her struggles to balance her work and family with her husband’s political career, their struggle as a family on the way Barack Obama’s being elected as the President, political conflicts, presidential campaign process, their life in the White House and much more… She shares many special moments for her that either surprise you or make you smile. She tells all of them in a very intimate way as if she talks to you. (Photos below: ‘Becoming’)

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You can find the book ‘Becoming‘ here in Amazon.

I read that based on this book, a documentary film had been released of the same name, ‘Becoming’, on Netflix in May 2020. The documentary is said to tell her story as she travels around the US on the 34-stop book tour for her bestselling memoir. The production company of the documentary, Higher Ground, belongs to Barack Obama and Michelle Obama. Netflix had announced that the couple signed a deal with them to produce original shows and movies.

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Michelle Obama had been very active when she was the First Lady of the US and she still is. The production company she owns with Barack Obama is said to win an Academy Award for best documentary for “American Factory“, a documentary about a Chinese investor who opens a factory in post-industrial Ohio. It is also stated that Michelle Obama is hosting an Instagram TV series that features stories of students in their first year of college. (insider.com, Feb 12, 2020)

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In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in New York at the beginning of February in 2020, Michelle Obama had talked about how life has changed for her after her daughters Malia and Sasha left home to attend college which was an emotional issue both for her and her husband and that the couple was struggling with having no kids at home. She had said in the interview that she was taking the time to concentrate on her relationship with her husband, Barack Obama. It is stated that the couple had the chance to vacation in Hawaii -their favorite place which appears in the book as well- and to spend more time in ‘Martha’s Vineyard’ -the Massachusetts island which had been a popular vacation spot for wealthy people like Jackie Kennedy, Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey-, at the mansion they had bought at the end of 2019. (insider.com). After the White House, Obamas have moved to the house they bought in the exclusive Kalorama neighborhood of Washington D.C. where they still live. Their neighbors in Washington D.C. are said to include Jeff Bezos and the couple Jared Kushner – Ivanka Trump. (townandcountrymag.com).
Photos below: (townandcountrymag.com).

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I also like the way Michelle Obama is dressed and her effortless sense of style. During her years in the White House, her fashion choices had always drawn attention and her elegance and style had been praised in the media. Her assertive clothing style was a reflection of her image in public as a strong educated black woman and her vivid colorful personality, which is still the case.

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I want to share here a paragraph from the ‘Preface’ of the book ‘Becoming’, written in March 2017, which affected me even before having read the book:

”There’s a lot I still don’t know about America, about life, about what the future might bring. But I do know myself. My father, Fraser, taught me to work hard, laugh often, and keep my word. My mother, Marian showed me how to think for myself and to use my voice. Together, in our cramped apartment on the South Side of Chicago, they helped me see the value in our story, in my story, in the larger story of our country. Even when it’s not pretty or perfect. Even when it’s more real than you want it to be. Your story is what you have, what you will always have. It is something to own.”

I think Michelle Obama’s book ‘Becoming’, is an indicator of what things can be accomplished through self confidence, hard work and determination ignited by a good and solid family life.

Notes: Besides the book “Becoming“, you can check the following books about Michelle Obama in Amazon titled “Michelle Obama: A Life“, “Chasing Light: Michelle Obama Through the Lens of a White House Photographer“, “Michelle Obama: The First Lady in Photographs” and “Go High: The Unstoppable Presence and Poise of Michelle Obama“.

A short while after I published this post, I heard that the book ‘A Promised Land‘ by Barack Obama -first volume of his presidential memoirs- has also been published. I want to read this book as well. You can also find the book ‘A Promised Land’ by Barack Obama here in Amazon. For the Spanish edition of the book (“Una tierra prometida“), check here.
Alternatively, you can check here at Amazon for the gift set of the two books -‘Becoming’ and ‘A Promised Land’.
For the book titled “Barack Obama: His Legacy of Hope & Change” (about Barack Obama- his life, family and political career) check here. I also liked the book “Hope, Never Fear: A Personal Portrait of the Obamas” -the story of the Obamas through a qualified album of their photographs (2019 publication).