Book Review “Becoming”

BOOK REVIEW

“Becoming” By Michelle Obama

WRITTEN BY: SAEE RATNAPARKHI

This is a story of a young Black girl from a working-class family from the Southside of Chicago who grew up to become a First Lady of the United States of America.

Through this memoir, Michelle Obama, a former First Lady of America, talks about her parents, her family, her neighborhood, the way she was raised, the values she learned, the experiences she had during school and college that laid the foundation of her life. She talks about the incidents that have shown her the path and have carved her personality. At the same time, she talks very passionately about her love life, the way she met Barack Obama, the way they spent time together, and how they stood up for each other through all the ups and downs.

She was highly invested in every job she worked and in this book, she talks with great interest about them. She has worked in multiple roles and in multiple places: from working at a private law firm to the city government tackling different social issues, as a teacher at a non-profit organization, and in administrative positions at a hospital. She played an equally active role as Barack Obama in political campaigns for his Presidential election. She contributed greatly as a First Lady too, for various social causes and especially in improving the health of children and adolescents.

It is heart-warming to see how proactively and efficiently she has worked for the society at different levels, while being a perfect daughter, wife, and mother. As every mother does, she has had her struggles juggling work and family. Her ability to prioritize and multi-task is worth learning from

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38746485-becoming

Throughout the book, she has acknowledged her friends and colleagues, their mentorship and support at different places and in different roles. She shares about her friendships, their emotional bonds that give a softness to the quite tough life she had.

With all the details about the people around, the places she was at and the descriptions of the situations, it is very easy to imagine the story playing out in front of the eyes. Her lucid language makes me feel as if she is sitting next to me and narrating her story to me. She beautifully unveils her journey through different stages of her life - from her family when she was a kid to her family when she herself has kids. Her story is real, very much like yours and mine. Right from the first sentence of the preface of the book, I could relate to different incidents in her life, her thoughts and feelings, her struggles as she talks about.

The book seems to lose the pace for a while though after the family enters the White House. It gets a little mundane to read about her work while being always shielded by the Security Forces but the book ends very well on a positive note, showing how the Obamas, both are still working for social issues even when Barack is not in the office, showing their true commitment towards American society.

“Becoming” is a great read and a daily dose of motivation to those who have goals and are stepping towards them or those who are still exploring their paths or those who need a push to stay focused and determined. It is also a good book for casual reading and to know more about Michelle and Barack Obama. It is especially relatable to girls and women, and to those who are nonWhite, as they might find the book very rewarding and empowering.

Saee Ratnaparkhi

Shakha: City -State: Aditi shakha, Boston, MA , North-east Hobbies: Reading books, hiking, painting