Becoming
Michelle Obama, 2018
The former First Lady's own account of growing up on Chicago's South Side, building a career, a marriage and a public life—in a clear-eyed, unhurried voice. A clear-eyed, witty voice carries you through Chicago childhood, career and marriage at an unhurried pace, with hope and family close by.
Feels like hope and wonder. About identity, ambition and family.
Who it’s for
You may like it if you enjoy reflective memoirs about identity, ambition and family told in a direct, warm voice. The account lingers over ordinary detail and includes a raw passage on grief, so it may not suit a mood that wants light, brisk reading.
Why read it
It gives you a clear-eyed view of how ambition, marriage and public duty shape a life, told with warmth and exactness.
A page from the book
Grief does not stay at the graveside; it follows you to the fridge.
It hurts to live after someone has died. It just does. It can hurt to walk down a hallway or open the fridge. It hurts to put on a pair of socks, to brush your teeth. Food tastes like nothing. Colors go flat. Music hurts, and so do memories. You look at something you’d otherwise find beautiful—a purple sky at sunset or a playground full of kids—and it only somehow deepens the loss. Grief is so lonely this way. Michelle Obama.Her family shared a crowded second-floor Chicago bungalow, and she slept in a living room that was carved in two with a curtain.
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Where to get it
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Questions readers ask
- Is Becoming for me?
- You may like it if you enjoy reflective memoirs about identity, ambition and family told in a direct, warm voice. The account lingers over ordinary detail and includes a raw passage on grief, so it may not suit a mood that wants light, brisk reading.
- What is Becoming like?
- A clear-eyed, witty voice carries you through Chicago childhood, career and marriage at an unhurried pace, with hope and family close by. Feels like hope and wonder. About identity, ambition and family.
- What should I read after Becoming?
- If you liked Becoming, try Born a Crime (Trevor Noah), Me Talk Pretty One Day (David Sedaris) and Seabiscuit (Laura Hillenbrand).
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