Becoming

by Michelle Obama

This book is an autobiography about Michelle Obama, and her life from being an ordinary girl to being the first African American First Lady of the United States of America. Michelle was born on the 17th of January 1964 to a middle class family in Chicago. Her father was a pump operator, and her mother dedicated her life to take care of her and her brother, Craig Robinson. Michelle Obama was a very bright student since she was young. She attended Princeton University, and earned a scholarship at Harvard University in 1988. During her time at University, Michelle found it hard to fit in with everyone else. Her roommates moved rooms because they did not want to share a room with a coloured person. She was either ‘Too Black for the White people’, or too ‘White for the black people’. Barack Obama met Michelle in 1989, and they got married in 1992. They welcomed their first daughter in 1998 (Malia Obama) and their second daughter in 2001. In 2002, she was appointed as the executive director of community affairs at University of Chicago Hospitals. She however quit her job to work in her husband’s presidential campaign. Barack Obama became the president of the United States of America in 2009, and Michelle volunteered in homeless shelters, and soup kitchens.It was very difficult for her and her family to get used to the life in the state house, since they were not wealthy before Barack became president. When his time in office was done and Donald Trump was elected as president, Trump made very hurtful comments about Barack. He even accused him for not being born in the USA, and this put the whole Obama family in danger. After leaving the White House, they settled in a neighbourhood close to the White House, and had everything arranged the way it was in the White House. In my opinion, I would recommend this book because it shows that you do not have to have everything to be someone. You have to come from somewhere. Even though Michelle Obama was discriminated, and abused, she did not let that bring her down. Even though she grew up in a small house, and at times lacked, she did not let that define who was she was.

Angel Mailu

Rating: 5 Recommend

 


 

Before reading this book, I had a vague idea of who Michelle Obama is. I knew her mainly as the former first lady and as an aspirational figure who appealed to a broad range of people. But I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was about her that made her so aspirational, so appealing and most of all, so unique. Reading this book helped to clarify this. In brief, Becoming is an autobiography by Michelle Obama which is split into 3 chapters with each chapter representing a different part of her life. “Becoming Me” is the first, here we are given insight into who Michelle Robinson was and her upbringing in the south side of Chicago. “Becoming Us”, is the second. Here we are taken into her relationship with Barack Obama before his inauguration. Beyond that, we also get to see how the lessons learned from her upbringing have impacted her life. The last chapter “Becoming More” is the longest. This section occurs post-inauguration where we see Michelle take on the role of the first lady and become the Michelle that we all know. The more I read this book, the more I felt as though Michelle was speaking directly to me. She tackles a broad range of themes from imposter syndrome and feelings of failure, to friendship and grief. By doing so, I began to relate to Michelle. As big a person she is, she is still a person and I feel that this book helped to humanise her. I would definitely recommend this book as there are many lessons to be learned.

Santayian Kantai

Rating: 5 Recommend

 


 

Becoming’ is a memoir by Michelle Obama, the first-ever African American first lady. In ‘Becoming’ Michelle takes us on a personal guide of her life from growing up in the Southside of Chicago to becoming the first lady of the United States of America. Michelle takes us through her raw emotions detailing the first time she met Barack Obama and graduating from Princeton University and becoming a lawyer. She also talks about being a wife and mother of two and her struggles of maintaining a good ‘work home’ balance. One of the main topics of ‘Becoming’ is racism and the racial struggle Michelle faced through her childhood telling the reader about the levels of poverty and violence she experienced in Southside Chicago which was vastly different from the Suburbs. She talks about her school and how classes were held in a dimly lit basement with a clearly under qualified teacher. In these moments, Michelle shows us the struggle she faced to become the person she is now, illustrating that growth doesn’t happen without struggle and failure. Michelle then goes on to describe the struggles she and her husband faced as he ran for president due to the colour of their skin. Even after being called an ‘angry black woman’ and the press criticizing her every move, Michelle pushed forward being a pillar of strength for her family and the world itself. The theme of family and its importance is constant in the book and resonated with me how close Michelle was with the family members in her life; incorporating how they each assisted each other through thick and thin. The book shows the power of finding yourself and what you stand for in a world where people will try to pre-determine you and your ability based on the gender or colour of your skin. As Michelle said “If you don’t get out there and define yourself, you’ll be quickly and inaccurately defined by others".

Collins Mgomella

Rating: 5 Recommend

 


 

Becoming is a great book, written about hard work and the journey to success. It taught me a number of things such as the amount of effort needed to achieve success. It was a real eye opener to how much drudgery goes into prosperity, and it was truly inspiring. It truly astonished me as to how she went from living in Chicago in a small apartment while attending Princeton to going to Harvard and ultimately becoming the first lady. This clearly was not an easy journey for her but it was the fact that she kept on going and did not give up. Her life is split up into three segments within the book, "Becoming Me", "Becoming Us", "Becoming More". "Becoming Me", is an insight of Michelle's past and mostly her childhood. She was brought up in a loving modest home on the south side of Chicago. She had first encountered Barak in her office whom she had to mentor, and as they started working they became close friends. Friendship blossomed into love. Not only does this part talk about her childhood but It also puts light on some of the very important aspects like Racism in those times in American suburbs. The second section, "Becoming Us", mainly talks about how she and Barack came to be, which takes the audience into their relationship. The manner in which he is described, causes the reader to instantly fall in love with him. Finally, "Becoming More", highlights her political life in depth. This is a bittersweet section that talks about all the struggles of being in the spotlight as well as having your voice heard. She guides one on how to self-improve through criticism and be more confident. This part of the book also talks about their prodigious contributions towards society. She doesn't fail to credit each and every member of the family throughout her book. This is a truly compelling book which tells us how normal these people are, and how strongly they felt for society. Before reading this, I hadn't known of the obligations the family had to make until they got to where they are now. I really and truly appreciate them and would absolutely recommend this book.

Faraja Laiser

Rating: 4 Interesting