Reviews with content warning for War - Becoming

Reviews tagging 'War'

Becoming by Michelle Obama

23 reviews

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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bashsbooks's review against another edition

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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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nebraskanwriter's review against another edition

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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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eib_21's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

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wholeottabooks's review against another edition

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inspiring slow-paced

5.0

Am I Michelle’s friend now? I felt so close to Michelle and her family through every page. Even though I knew how most chapters ended, I was still rooting her on through every new obstacle. Michelle’s writing and careful choice of words is so powerful. She places emphasis on the importance of language and she truly lives by it. I loved every second of this book and am thrilled she wrote another one. Thank you, Michelle, for your honesty and for sharing your hope.

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