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puckeverlasting's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This was phenomenal. I laughed and cried, and was completely immersed in this journey. Her writing style and voice are wonderful. She gave just the right amount of information throughout, delving deeply without the details becoming mundane. This book was thought provoking and beautiful, by far the best I've read this year.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Death, Racism, and Gun violence
Gorgeous all around. A phenomenal readnebraskanwriter'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: Grief, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Death, Gun violence, Racism, War, Cursing, Misogyny, Violence, Abandonment, Bullying, Death of parent, Mass/school shootings, and Panic attacks/disorders
charlotte_helen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
5.0
This was a fantastic book. Whilst I knew of Michelle Obama, it was mainly from what I knew about her husband so I really enjoyed how this book focused on her and what she had achieved throughout her life. It was raw, eye-opening and very informative. This is definitely worth a read.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Gun violence
haleybyman's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Death, Classism, and Racism
lit_with_lauren's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, and Mass/school shootings
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: Death of parent, Grief, Cancer, Gun violence, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Hate crime, Chronic illness, Mass/school shootings, Racism, Sexism, and Police brutality
redroseses's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Mass/school shootings, and Gun violence
Minor: Child death, Violence, War, Racism, Police brutality, and Misogyny
ivana's review
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Cancer, Death, Mass/school shootings, War, Death of parent, and Racism
amandalorianxo's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
I normally don’t reflect on having President’s Day off from work but I’m in the midst of grading tests and listening to @michelleobama’s amazing memoir. The more I listen, the more I hope to become half the woman she is as I get up there in age. I’m on the last chapter at the moment as I take a break from grading but if you haven’t read/ listened to this, I implore you to do so soon! There is so much insight into a world that I am unfamiliar with that I can’t help but think that we as a country need to applaud and praise our president’s wives/partners way more than is considered the norm. The age old saying “ If you want something done, get a woman to do it.” rings true in the case of our former First Lady. Roughly nineteen hours long, I have cherished every minute, thankful for her honesty and insight in a world millions of us aren’t always in touch with.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Death, and Death of parent
molly_rose's review
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, Racism, Pregnancy, Sexism, Cancer, Miscarriage, and Misogyny
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Child death, Gun violence, and Mass/school shootings