Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Becoming by Michelle Obama

52 reviews

merrynthomas's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Police brutality, Racism, Child death, Death, War, Death of parent, Violence, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Bullying, Grief, Gun violence, Infertility, Racial slurs, Sexism, Slavery, and Terminal illness

kdailyreads's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Sexism, Cancer, Racism, Death, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Violence, Infertility, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Medical content, War, and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Police brutality and Xenophobia

marlee_grace's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Really enjoyed this! Was great to hear about Michelle and Barack's stories before being in the public eye, the struggles they endured and the changes they made :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, War, Miscarriage, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Racism, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, Grief, Cancer, Death, Police brutality, Murder, Islamophobia, Rape, Suicide, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Infertility, Sexism, Child death, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Hate crime, Medical content, Misogyny, and Pregnancy

faithaforman's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

If listening on audiobook I'd recommend 1.15x speed. :)
Michelle's story is inspiring, empowering, and at times heartbreaking. A true testament to hard work, perseverance, and a desire to help people and how much of an impact one person can have.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, and Terminal illness

Minor: Infertility, Police brutality, Slavery, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Fire/Fire injury

Pacing begins quite slow but does pick up progressively as the book goes on.

jbabbm's review against another edition

challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Gun violence

Moderate: Racism, Child death, Death, and Chronic illness

Minor: Miscarriage, Grief, and Police brutality

grace33's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective slow-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Violence, Death of parent, and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Miscarriage and Misogyny

missrosymaplemoth's review against another edition

4.5

I switched to the audiobook on page 262. I was having a weird week and could not bring myself to read the rest with my eyes so I read with my ears. :) I just listened to my first audiobook in several years as well so I thought of this option.

I loved this book and I’m glad to have read it. The writing style was pleasant, although the pace was often slow which I think contributed to my inability to continue in print. That is my only “complaint.”

I enjoyed learning about some events from Michelle Obama’s perspective, about her childhood and the circumstances in which she grew up. It was nice to hear her narrate the audiobook, as I thought it brought an personal touch and elevated the listening experience.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child death and Racism

Minor: Police brutality

bashsbooks's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.5

This is an exquisitely written and narrated memoir. I do think it's funny that she doesn't think of herself as a politician when she's the most politically active First Lady I've seen in my lifetime, and I find her brand of respectability politics not relatable, but I understand where both of these things are coming from.  Also, I deeply respect that she didn't want her husband to become a politician for personal reasons, I would also not be pleased if my partner wanted to do that. Overall, I found her very down-to-Earth and her story extremely interesting. Would recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical content, Chronic illness, Racism, Misogyny, and Sexism

Minor: Mass/school shootings, War, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Gun violence, Islamophobia, and Miscarriage

imnotadorableimpunk's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Classism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Racism, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Sexism, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Bullying, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infertility, and Misogyny

nebraskanwriter's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

“I’m an ordinary person who found herself on an extraordinary journey.” 

Though I am not super into politics, I found this memoir interesting, heartbreaking and enlightening. Michelle tackles the monumentous task of encompassing her entire life as well as her husband’s presidency into this book. She begins by talking about growing up in Chicago, going to law school, becoming an attorney, how her and Barack met. 

She talks about how her and Barack were always passionate about helping others and making things better for people. Which then over time led Barack to go into politics which then eventually catapulted him into the role of becoming President of the United States.

Throughout it all, from moving into the White House to traveling over to England to meet the Queen, Michelle’s focus was always on her children and making sure they could live the best life possible.

I feel like that is my biggest take away from this book. No matter what party you align yourself with, at the end of the day, Michelle was a mother and a wife. She and her husband did what they thought was best for America for their girls’ future. Whether that was successful or not is of your opinion but the love Michelle feels toward her husband and her children was evident and beautifully written. Trying to grapple with any little bit of sense of normalcy with the secret service never letting you leave their sight, aids leaving a thick binder every night for you to review and be briefed on the next day, going to funerals of gun violence victims. The weight of what any world leader goes through is immense, at times soul crushing like with the Sandy Hook shooting. But then there were also moments of happiness and success. 

Being president and a president’s wife is not a glamorous job. Everyone projects their problems onto you. These people believed so passionately in making a difference in the world that they gave up 8 years of normalcy, of privacy, of having a simple life, to make America a better place. Or at least they tried to. And I find that admirable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Death, Gun violence, Racism, War, Cursing, Misogyny, Violence, Abandonment, Bullying, Death of parent, Mass/school shootings, and Panic attacks/disorders