Reviews

The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama

hedwig2's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

esther_talbdt's review against another edition

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hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

Michelle Obama is back at it with a great book. She mixes her life experiences with wisdom from research to give us advice for different aspects of our lives. I would give her the steering wheel for my life and sleep soundly. 

scandinative's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

netti99's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

nsm5's review against another edition

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inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

kansas_b's review against another edition

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inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

nicoleberning's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

5.0

dorothy_gale's review against another edition

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5.0

5★ + 5♥: JUST WHAT I NEEDED, WHEN I NEEDED IT! MICHELLE IS THE PART OF AMERICA I AM PROUD OF! She is so down to Earth and humble; I love her overall life story and the stories she chose to share with us in this book. This book made me want to return to Becoming and listen again. I burned through this audiobook (which she narrates of course) in five hours. I had a challenging evening and overall a heavy week and you know, it’s been a heavy couple of years. To hear someone of Michelle’s stature discuss similar struggles is heartening and inspires hope. I love that she’s a woman of color and that she’s such a straight shooter AND that she’s funny. She shares quotes from Toni Morrison, John Lewis and Maya Angelou. She shares stories about celebrities like Lin Manuel Miranda and Ali Wong, but also about unknown mothers... and they get equal time. She hits a variety of topics: the pandemic, parenting, anxiety/fear, marriage, FRIENDSHIP, being 5’11” and more. Her views on friendship were an unexpected bonus AND they echoed all the latest books I’ve read on the topic this year, which is fabulous for everyone willing to hear her. And her new hobby?! I don’t see myself jumping into it but could she be any more human?! The people she honors and includes somehow makes me proud. I know her dad has passed, but shout-out to both her parents, Marian and Fraser, for doing such an amazing job raising this child of America. Michelle Obama sets an extraordinary example of walking the talk, and the talk is “Going High.” Her mention of the Three Sisters makes me want to go read her first book (which I didn’t know existed until hearing this one). She mentioned Indigenous people more than once. Give her ALL the bonus stars!

Rebeccca Carroll of the LA Times nailed it in her review, saying of the book: “Among the reasons it’s not so easy to dismiss are the indefatigable humility of its author and, perhaps more importantly, the resolute necessity of a book like this right now, in this particular moment, for a pandemic-afflicted nation that is politically siloed, socially untethered, emotionally shell-shocked.”

simonemom's review against another edition

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Will come back too. 

leahkafer's review against another edition

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5.0

Michelle did it again!! This book *may* have even been better than Becoming. Michelle articulates how we’ve all been feeling over the past three years, but encourages us to keep going. I love how throughout the book she never claims to have it all together, but she still gives her own experiences of things that have worked for her.
Overall an excellent read by an extraordinary woman — but who is really just like all of us.