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imnotadorableimpunk's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
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
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and War
kirkspockreads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I appreciated this. Mrs. Obama is a good writer and listening to her narrate the audiobook was a pleasure. What sticks out the most to me is her thoughts/feelings of her husband verses the things he did as President I did not agree with (bombings, drone attacks, allowing ICE to deport more immigrants than any President before him). It was also hard not to feel a little nostalgic for the 8 years the Obama were in the White House, but then I had to remind myself of the things I mentioned above that occurred under his watch and remember that not everyone was thriving under his Presidency. However, I really did enjoy the story of how they met, fell in love, and started their family. It was all VERY cute.
My other issue was her championing of dealing with “the childhood obesity epidemic in America.” BMI is not a significant way to determine someone’s health. I could rant on about this but many other fat activists already have. I will say that her putting a garden in the White House (no easy feat) and her championing of gardening in general were commendable, as well as how she took on fast food corporations and highlighted the “food desert” issue. We all should certainly have access to fresh produce and good home cooked meals. I just wish it wasn’t all wrapped around in BMI and the weight loss industrial complex.
That said, this is definitely worth a read/listen.
My other issue was her championing of dealing with “the childhood obesity epidemic in America.” BMI is not a significant way to determine someone’s health. I could rant on about this but many other fat activists already have. I will say that her putting a garden in the White House (no easy feat) and her championing of gardening in general were commendable, as well as how she took on fast food corporations and highlighted the “food desert” issue. We all should certainly have access to fresh produce and good home cooked meals. I just wish it wasn’t all wrapped around in BMI and the weight loss industrial complex.
That said, this is definitely worth a read/listen.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent
Minor: Fatphobia
staceyinthesticks's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent
elisanisly's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Fatphobia, Police brutality, and War
Minor: Toxic relationship and Abandonment
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!
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
molly_rose's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
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
mirajuliee's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Cancer, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Grief, and Death of parent
laverlately's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, and Racism
Minor: Police brutality and Grief
rbacon's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
As you get into the third part of the book, the sequence of events seems to get looser and chapter placements become somewhat arbitrary, which I think made it slow in parts to get through. The beginning of the book and particularly Michelle Obama's upbringing is really interesting and a great reminder that anyone could make a difference with perseverance and the right opportunities. Raises some interesting questions too.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Sexism, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent