Wow. Just...wow.
What an incredible memoir!
She is one classy former First Lady.
This book made me laugh, cry, cheer, pray, cringe, and gasp.
Although I didn't always agree with everything her husband did while in office, he DID do a lot of great things for our nation. And the Obama's in my opinion, were very easy to respect. They earned our respect and honor. And now?? Well......it's downright embarrassing what has happened to the fiber of this nation in the last couple of years. but that's not for here...
SUMMARY
Michelle was born into a blue-collar working class family. Her mother was a woman of faith and her father worked a factory job in Chicago that required long hours. She was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago and has one brother, Craig who is older and always has been her protector.
She and her brother shared a bedroom as they lived in a small apartment. Her parents raised Michelle to be outspoken and unafraid. She talks about her father's diagnoses with multiple sclerosis and how that affected her.
She worked hard all through school and earned a spot at Princeton! She also worked hard there yet knew the feeling of being the only black woman in a class. After graduating, she worked in a corporate law firm as a corporate lawyer. Meanwhile, a guy named Barack Obama was working his way through college at Harvard. (He also earned a degree from Columbia University) She met him one morning when he appeared in her office as an intern! And all of the life plans she had made up to this point were changed.
Michelle describes life in their early marriage and then as he gets involved in politics.
She had to learn how to juggle working and motherhood. All while her husband was moving fast in the political world. I love how she went into her husband's family history because of course I didn't pay much attention to it when he actually was president plus I'm sure the media did tweak many of the facts and many reporters were inaccurate in their information about his birth, his biological father, etc. She really laid it all out. She goes into much detail about his life as a senator and how she coped with it all.
She gives us a look into their private debate about whether he should run for president of the USA.
She tells us of her role during his campaign.....one in which she was often criticized by the media and other politicians.
She shares what it was really like living in the White House, under the limelight and constantly in the media. She describes her feelings, life for her 2 daughters Malia and Sasha while growing up in the White House for 8 years. She describes one awesome scene where Malia goes to Prom. She's real and makes you want to get to know her, Barack and the girls with her style of writing.
I really enjoyed reading about her feelings when they were leaving the White House and I loved reading about her friendships with the Bushes and the Clintons.
She has a whole section on her initiatives she put into place while First Lady. I actually liked all of her initiatives: Poverty awareness, education, nutrition, childhood obesity and better foods for school lunches, physical activity.
Her husband....her whole family actually...made history when he became the first black man to be President of the United States. Her description of that evening brought tears to my eyes. It's very well written and poignant and brave.
In the middle of the book there are several family photos and some of when they were in the White House. I took my time and looked and read about every single one. She was an adorable child and is a beautiful lady inside and out.
She gives all of us a challenge: Who are we, and who do we want to become??
In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 14 and older.
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 10.
Ps She does mention Trump, our current "leader" and she does so with much grace and class.
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