Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

Becoming by Michelle Obama

24 reviews

faithaforman's review against another edition

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, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

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

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

imnotadorableimpunk's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

leonormsousa's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

TRIGGER WARNINGS 

racism, sexism, death, death of a parent, child death, mass/school shootings, police brutality, gun violence, hate crime, chronic illness, cancer, miscarriage, grief 

REVIEW 

Michelle Obama is the GOAT and that is a fact. So obviously her memoir had been on my wishlist since… well, since I knew it existed. It was recommended to me by a multitude of people who give great recommendations and I feel kind of stupid that I didn’t get around to reading it sooner (although I do think that I read it at the perfect time of my life so I might have been consciously stupid but unconsciously smart :p). 

First of all, Michelle (yes, I will call her by her first name because in my mind we’re friends <3) has a hell of a life story so it’s hard not to feel grasped by it. We follow her from childhood to the end of Obama’s presidency, while she grows up through hardness but also happiness and lots of love. 

The book is very well written, including historical contextualization as we move through time, something that is especially relevant for someone who is not super familiar with US history/geography (like me). I read the book in audiobook (which I think is definitely a plus) and so it felt like she was right in front of me, just telling me her story, with emotion showing every once in a while and her strength always present. 

There is a part of the book in particular where Michelle shares her struggles with finding a purpose. After accomplishing everything she had planned (becoming a good layer with a good job), she feels like maybe being a layer is not what she wants. At 27 she shifts her career and once again finds her path but before that, she goes through a period of insecurity and confusion. This in itself is already something interesting to read about but the thing is: I was/am going through something similar in my own life. So you can imagine how reading how the GOAT dealt with and overcame this was so important to me. 

There is also some romance in this memoir and it’s so cute that you almost forget you’re not reading fiction. But it’s also very real and I love how Michelle is not afraid to expose how their relationship wasn’t perfect but it was something they both worked for. It makes me believe that maybe real love does still exist. 

The only little thing I can point at this book is that there are some parts that are a bit repetitive, namely when she’s talking about her work as a first lady. It’s nothing too much and it really is such a small thing compared to the greatness of the book but I always like to give some constructive criticism :p (like she’s actually gonna read this :p) 

Last but definitely not least, this is a book written by a Black woman so expect (great) notes on feminism and racism marking every step of Michelle’s life. It’s of course, one of the best parts of this memoir, especially because it is non-fiction so it can’t get more real than this… 

No decent conclusion: just go read this! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexism, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent

ivana's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and War

karaswils's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

Michelle Obama masterfully balances wit and wisdom, levity and sincerity in her memoir spanning from her childhood on the Southside of Chicago to her last days as the First Lady of the United States. Her memoir is a testament to how we can all be swept up in other people’s dreams, and the courage and resolve it takes to follow your own. Even reading this in 2022 as a 26 year old woman, there are some timeless themes in Obama’s work that will stay with me for years to come.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cancer, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Vomit, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent

molly_rose's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Bullying, Child death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, and Sexual harassment

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

3.25

this book offers a rare glimpse into the former first lady's life before and during her tenure in the white house. i particularly enjoyed reading abt michelle's journey towards finding her own purpose-driven work, and her juggle of work and family life which im sure resonate w/ countless women. the minute ways inequality dis-levels the playing field were revealing, while her hope and integrity were at times inspiring as well.

however, the pacing's a bit off for me: the book was quite slow going in the beginning, then simply blasted thru her time in the white house--8 yrs of jam packed life--in simply a couple chapters. i wish there were more, at least a lil more details and events described. surprisingly, becoming also didnt elicit much emotions from me, thus the seemingly-unpopular-opinion of 3ish stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Sexism

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

Minor: Cancer, Gun violence, and Classism

mirajuliee's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Cancer, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Grief, and Death of parent

angstyevie's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Misogyny, Racism, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder

hurricaneflora's review against another edition

funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer