Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

Becoming by Michelle Obama

18 reviews

cats33's review

adventurous emotional funny informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Eating disorder, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Medical content, Miscarriage, Body shaming, Bullying, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Ableism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Murder, Classism, Death of parent, Grief, Islamophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Antisemitism, Child death, Death, Deportation, and Mass/school shootings

alexstartsthings's review

hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, Death of parent, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Terminal illness, Racism, and Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer and Police brutality

kdailyreads's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Sexism, Cancer, Racism, Death, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Violence, Infertility, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Medical content, War, and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Police brutality and Xenophobia

marlee_grace's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, War, Miscarriage, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Racism, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, Grief, Cancer, Death, Police brutality, Murder, Islamophobia, Rape, Suicide, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Infertility, Sexism, Child death, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Hate crime, Medical content, Misogyny, and Pregnancy

faithaforman's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

If listening on audiobook I'd recommend 1.15x speed. :)
Michelle's story is inspiring, empowering, and at times heartbreaking. A true testament to hard work, perseverance, and a desire to help people and how much of an impact one person can have.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, and Terminal illness

Minor: Infertility, Police brutality, Slavery, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Fire/Fire injury

Pacing begins quite slow but does pick up progressively as the book goes on.

imnotadorableimpunk's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Classism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Racism, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Sexism, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Bullying, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infertility, and Misogyny

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! 

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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

ivana's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Cancer, Death, Mass/school shootings, War, Death of parent, and Racism

karaswils's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

Michelle Obama masterfully balances wit and wisdom, levity and sincerity in her memoir spanning from her childhood on the Southside of Chicago to her last days as the First Lady of the United States. Her memoir is a testament to how we can all be swept up in other people’s dreams, and the courage and resolve it takes to follow your own. Even reading this in 2022 as a 26 year old woman, there are some timeless themes in Obama’s work that will stay with me for years to come.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death of parent, Vomit, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Miscarriage, and Cancer

molly_rose's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

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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