RnR Book Review: Becoming

Somebody HOLD me! I cannot explain the LEVEL of fangirling I felt while reading this book!!! It’s beyond words. As if I didn’t need more reasons to fangirl over this lady and find her even more of an inspiration, she comes out with this book and makes me realise that we are very similar in many respects, so yea, I’m basically Michelle Obama. You’re welcome! Read along to see my thoughts on this book!

Synopsis:

As it’s an autobiography, it’s fairly self-explanatory, Michelle details her life from childhood, meeting/dating/marrying Barack and eventually what I feel we all want to know about, life in the White House and the inner workings of Team Obama.

Break it Down:

Sometimes you look at people from the outside and for all that you see, you are somewhat envious of the life they seem to lead so seamlessly, reading this book you realise just how turbulent life in the spotlight can be. Especially for someone who didn’t choose the life of politics, but what this book showed me is the power of using the voice and the platform you are given. You can shrink under the pressure or you can rise up to the challenge and embrace it. Though I felt at the time that the press were extremely unfair to her particularly at the beginning of Barack’s 8-year presidential term, she explains in the book very clearly how it hurt her feelings, but also how she was able to shake it off and use it as fuel. What I felt she explained so clearly, was the fact that she was acutely aware of the fact that she needed to represent the African-American race to the general public, she was also aware that she needed to be the picture of “perfection” on some level. Though highly unfair, it is often times the way and reality of the structure of American society. I appreciated her honesty when she explained how seriously she took her role as FLOTUS and particularly as the 1st African-American one, she was acutely aware of the role given and of the people who paved the way for her POTUS to take on that role. The path that countless numbers of women and men of colour who died for the very idea of freedom and yet, she Michelle Robinson Obama was in the White House! I couldn’t help but be proud of her and for her!

People say it a lot, “they’re just like us” and yes, we are all human and flawed and we have the same sort of hangups. She made herself more relatable than she already was (how was that possible?) She wrote openly about how she worried how the pressure of being president would have on her husband, she discussed her frustrations with politics and how catty and backhanded it could be. I loved how honest she was about how Donald Trump’s theory about her husband’s birth annoyed her, how it upset her that her country would not only supported but ultimately elected a man who was not only racist, but proudly misogynistic. I love how at the book’s conclusion, she appears to get more brazen and outspoken about her disappointment in Trump and his divisive views, and the fact that
she would never forgive him for the comment he made about her husband. The love and protection she has for her daughters is 100% evident, not that I doubted it, but the way she writes about her love and admiration for her daughters, the hope and way she leads her life as a template for her daughters to emulate is beyond inspiring. I can only hope that I can be as inspirational to my own daughter. I could gush about this book for hours, it was eye opening and at the same time, it just revealed to me what I already knew. Michelle Obama is legit da bomb💣.

Negatives?:

I will admit to feeling a little bit uncomfortable when she discussed the death of Osama Bin Laden, I imagine she was very aware of just how tenuous the topic was and not much time was spent on the subject. She mentions how difficult Barack found making the decision to ultimately send in a squad in order to kill him. She also mentions that no life was more important than another, but that the people of the United States needed Bin Laden’s death in order to give them a sense of security. Despite understanding why she would say this, I still felt uneasy because I don’t believe in violence and I don’t believe killing Bin Laden really did much for the US as a whole, but that’s another subject altogether. My only other point is not regarding the book, as she laid the groundwork for her life as we believe we know it, I found myself rushing her on because I wanted to find out how she met Barack😁! Shame on impatient me, because she weaves such a beautifully warm and tapestry-like idea of her life- it felt like you were with her throughout.

The RnR Rating:

5 out of 5! I can’t gush about this book enough, it gives you a glimpse into Michelle and Barack’s life, their love and just their genuine admiration and respect for each other and their children. It just oozes from the pages.

Would I recommend the book?:

I could not recommend it enough! Not only as it was one of the most highly anticipated books of 2018, but to me, it fully lived up to the hype. It left me emotional; smiling or tearing up- Michelle has a way of writing which wraps you up in a blanket, I read the book as if she was speaking directly to me and we are legit friends. #justsaying

Have you picked this book up? What are your thoughts and feelings about it? Let us know! Do you have any recommendations?

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