In this post: The classic autobiography by the classic icon, Michelle Obama, doesn't disappoint (though it can feel too long at times).
Category: Black in America
Ramiah Recommended?
Yes! Who can truthfully say no to this book?
If you're reading this, there's little possibility that you actually need convincing. This is Michelle Obama's autobiography, after all. If you are curious about how she became the woman she is, fell in love with the former president, and mothered children in an especially extraordinary circumstance, look no further than from hearing from the source herself.
There are some things I loved about the book. But there are also some things I could have done without.
Things I loved:
This book is easily the best writing I have experienced... probably ever. Michelle Obama is able to draw anyone in, even if their life is dramatically different from hers. Maybe it's the earnestness with which she writes (she's very candid about how she disliked the performativeness of politics before meeting Barack Obama and even how she still doesn't have the best taste toward it). Maybe it's the topics of life she writes that connects her to her readers (losing her father to an illness, or trying to balance her ambitions with raising a family, for example). There were so many times that I felt not just her feelings but my own feelings while she was writing.
I was slowly separating from my parents, gradually less inclined to blurt every last thought in my head. I rode in silence behind them in the backseat of the Buick as we drove home from those basketball games, my feelings too deep or too jumbled to share. I was caught up in the lonely thrill of being a teenager now, convinced that the adults around me had never been there themselves (page 50).
Who can't relate to when they were first starting to exert independence as a teenager while reading this passage? I too thought of when I wanted to stop having movie nights at home with my mom in favor of going to a movie theater with my friends. This is just one example, but throughout the book, Michelle Obama is so relatable, just from the fact of telling her story so authentically.
I hope that critics of Michelle and Barack could at least humanize Michelle from these parts of the book. I believe that public figures are often seen as distant, or what they do become mistaken for who they are. Michelle walks us through so many parts of her life, which was also amazing to see.
She isn't just 'Barack's wife'. She's a daughter, a mother, a lawyer, an ally, an activist, a person who has normal struggles like making it home to dinner on time (though in unnormal circumstances, of course). Though her life was radically different than mine, I could see myself in her story, and I think that may be the case for many readers.
That being said, I also loved (LOVED!!!) her telling of the lovestory between her and Barack. She walks us through their struggles - her coming to terms with how calm he is in a storm, the commitment of running for office and how it is not always in concert with family time, being thrust into the public eye as first lady, etc. Seeing their friendship and love evolve was just so heartwarming. It made me love them as a couple even more.
I could go on singing praises forever. We know she is a fantastic woman and this is a fantastic ode to her story.
Let's move on to some hotter takes.
Things I could've down without:
Remember when I said I could go on singing praises forever? Well, at a certain point that's how it felt reading this book as well.
Take into account that I have openly said across my book blog that I'm not a memoir person. That's still true.
Though each chapter contained new insight into Michelle's life, I felt like 24 chapters were too long. Lives are complicated, so maybe that many chapters were necessary, but I went into the book thinking Michelle was great, read the book confirming Michelle was great, and as I kept reading, I was like... okay, you're still great. Every chapter, the challenges you faced, how you responded to them... all great, great, and great.
Though the situations would change each time, it felt like there was a similar cadence to each chapter and it didn't leave much to excitement. I didn't finish the book walking away with any new thoughts compared to when I first began reading the book. I actually dragged on reading this book over 2 months because I just felt like "what am I going to gain from reading the final chapters?".
That being said, it's still... (wait for it)... great. Yes, it was painful to finish it because the greatness became monotone, but reading about greatness at all is not a poisonous way to spend one's time by any means.
This was a book of her life, and life isn't always exciting. To be able to read about it was, overall, was a huge pleasure.
Ramiah Reflects
My New Favorite Life Quotes:
"There are truths we face and truths we ignore." - Michelle Obama
"If you don’t get out there and define yourself, you’ll be quickly and inaccurately defined by others." - Michelle Obama
"It was possible, I knew, to live on two planes at once—to have one’s feet planted in reality but pointed in the direction of progress." - Michelle Obama
"For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end." - Michelle Obama
Questions to Ask Yourself (and answer!):
Are you good enough? (hint: Yes, yes you are!)
How do you see public figures?
Who are you becoming?
Food for Thought:
Laughing can be a release of grief. Michelle recounts a moment with her family after they lost her father to an illness: "Slowly, we started to titter and crack up, collapsing finally into full-blown fits of laughter. I realize that might seem strange, but we were so much better at this than we were at crying" (pg145).
An example of how investment from an educator during early childhood can be motivating: ""As I contemplated the new job, my mind often traveled back to childhood, and in particular to the month or so I’d spent in the pencil-flying pandemonium of that second-grade class at Bryn Mawr Elementary, before my mother had the wherewithal to have me plucked out. In the moment, I’d felt nothing but relieved by my own good fortune. But as my luck in life seemed only to snowball from there, I thought more about the twenty or so kids who’d been marooned in that classroom, stuck with an uncaring and unmotivated teacher" (pg 176).
Ramiah's Re-read When
Re-read when:
You want to be inspired
You want to be related to, and possibly read mirrors of your own experience
You are processing grief
You want to become more open-minded, or you are about to pivot/change your own rules of moving in the world
You just want to read more about Michelle and Barack
You're going through a quarter-life crisis and want to be inspired
See below for my book notes:
NOTES
Check out my other posts and book notes here.
Until next time!
Montana Houston
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