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Editorial review
By Yvonne Durant, Audible Editor
BECOMING WILL BE ONE FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS
I remember seeing Michelle Obama for the first time in an Oprah magazine feature on a celebration honoring African American women. I knew her then as the wife of Senator Barack Obama and said to myself, "She’s so pretty." Of course, she was more than that. I happily and sometimes nervously followed the Obamas on their journey to the White House. When I got to hear her side of things years later, in her memoir Becoming, I loved every minute of listening to this great American story. She was so candid. I also could relate to her as I too was told by my parents that there was nothing I couldn’t do. This kinship made it easy for me to crawl into her story and make myself at home; that’s how she makes you feel, one of the family.
I sat in their living room and at the kitchen table when they’d talk about school, the neighborhood, and the family. Her father had MS but that didn’t stop him from going to work every day until he couldn’t. I laughed out loud when her brother, Craig, ran a fire drill centered on their father and how they would get him safely out of the house. Their parents followed his instructions and thankfully, that fire never happened. The family didn’t have much but they had everything they needed. Once, there was school trip to Europe and Michelle didn’t want to burden her parents, so she chose not to mention it. When they found out, they sat her down and explained that they were the parents and they would make the decisions—she went on the trip to Europe.
When she went to college at Princeton, it was clear Michelle was destined to do great things. The next stop was Harvard. Race reared its ugly head along the way when her white college roommate’s mother asked that her daughter be reassigned to another room. That was small stuff; Michelle stayed on course, and I found myself rooting for her all the way. Her honesty is brutal, like the time when her marriage hit a wall. She looked at it, made a plan, and that wall came tumbling down as they found a way to keep the marriage and family intact. One thing that stuck with me is that she would not sit and wait for her husband to come home. Oftentimes, he was late—the candles on the dinner table would start losing their flames, and Malia and Sasha were sleepy—but there would be no more waiting up. When it was time for dinner, they had dinner; when it was time to go to bed, they went to bed. She did not want them to think that life at home began when the man of the family walked in the door.
When Michelle Obama became first lady, I’m convinced every Black girl stood a little taller—including me, a grown woman. And maybe mothers looked at her and then at their daughters, and said, "See, there’s no such thing as 'can't'."
Continue reading Yvonne's review >
Publisher's summary
Editorial Review
The memoir we're Becoming eager to hear Her dance moves. Her vegetable garden. Her advocacy for girls everywhere. Her humility despite being one of the best-known names in the world. There are so many things to love about Michelle Obama that even those who might disagree with her husband’s politics admit to being fans. So much anticipation surrounds this, her official memoir, and specifics about what it will ultimately contain are few, but we can safely bet on it to be inspiring. No matter which boxes you check on your ballot, it’s hard not to be in awe of what this remarkable woman achieved in her path from the South Side of Chicago to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and beyond. When she revealed the book cover, the author tweeted: “As I prepare to share Becoming this fall, I hope you’ll also think about your own story, and trust that it will help you become whoever you aspire to be.” Can you imagine what it’ll sound like in her own words, via her own strong, familiar voice? I, for one, can hardly wait. —Courtney R., Audible Editor
Featured Article: The 20 Best Audiobooks Read by the Author
There’s an undeniable authenticity in a listen that’s told by the very person who penned it. From iconic memoirs to far-out fantasies, these immersive audio performances are uniquely genuine, all performed in the author’s own voice. If you want to experience how special it can be to listen to a narrative exactly the way it was intended, check out our list of the 20 best audiobooks read by their authors.
What listeners say about Becoming
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Are You Who You Appear To Be
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150 people found this helpful
Beautifully written and narrated
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62 people found this helpful
Nleon
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34 people found this helpful
A book for the ages
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22 people found this helpful
Greatest First Lady ever!!!
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19 people found this helpful
"Becoming" an author...needs some classes, sorry.
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18 people found this helpful
Authentic. Transparent. Relatable. Eye Opener
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16 people found this helpful
A powerful insiders view!
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13 people found this helpful
The book I didn’t know I needed
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13 people found this helpful
Excellence!
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12 people found this helpful