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grace33's review against another edition
4.75
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent
Minor: Miscarriage and Misogyny
missrosymaplemoth's review against another edition
4.5
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.
Graphic: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death and Racism
Minor: Police brutality
bashsbooks's review against another edition
4.5
Moderate: Chronic illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Medical content
Minor: Gun violence, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and War
imnotadorableimpunk's review against another edition
5.0
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
puckeverlasting's review against another edition
5.0
Minor: Child death, Death, Gun violence, and Racism
Gorgeous all around. A phenomenal readnebraskanwriter's review against another edition
3.5
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.
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
sakisreads's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Racism, Police brutality, and Death of parent
proza's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Racism
skeptic_hecate's review against another edition
4.5
I didn't think I would cry while reading about the life story of Michelle Obama, from the outside in, she looks like a privileged politician with power, however, how wrong I was.
I admired Michelle from a distance because she was not the typical femenine and demure first lady, she was strong and unafraid to make an impression, being called "difficult" and "intense" all my life, it really gave me someone to relate to.
At first, this book felt slow and boring, I couldn't believe I had to sit through the grilled cheese sandwich part, however, the more I read, the more I found myself relating. The type A personality, unafraid to be herself and standing against bullies, but deeplu insecure and afraid of being good enough, missunderstood and fucking up. It wasn't this privileged politician I was reading about, it was a down to earth woman who had to do twice the work than her peers. Michelle doesn't pretend she didn't have advantages and support, she acknowledges them yet doesn't shy away from her vulnerabilities and fuck ups.
I highly recommend this book, especially if you don't see people like you on the media or in powerful positions.
Minor: Homophobia, Racism, and Sexism
sas_lk's review against another edition
4.5
I interestingly most enjoyed her discussions about motherhood even though I am not a mother myself.
I respect her a lot, and I am grateful she wrote this book.
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Child death, Gun violence, Racism, and Slavery