Becoming

3 1/2 stars

I enjoyed Becoming by Michelle Obama. I listened to the audiobook read by Mrs. Obama herself which was both a positive experience and in the end proved to be a negative. Which was weird and which had me feeling conflicted and waffling over what kind of rating I would give this book.

I voted for Barack Obama in both presidential elections. I liked having Obama as our president, and in fact, I think Obama was the best president of my lifetime. I was always proud he and Michelle were representing America when abroad. I never once felt ashamed or worried about Obama's ability to understand the most complicated foreign policies, never felt he wasn't capable or smart enough, never felt he did not have our best interest in mind when making policy desisions. Michelle and Barack comported themselves with dignity and class at all times and at the same time could be playful and have fun when the situations arose. They could laugh and enjoy what life had to offer. They were the embodiment of the idea of this democratic experiment, America. In my humble opinion of course.

I thoroughly enjoyed the early part of this book which follows Michelle's childhood on the southside of Chicago. I grew up about 20 miles to the east of Michelle on the Indiana side of the greater Chicago metropolitan area. I'm 2 years older than Michelle so we grew up at the tale-end of the boomer generation. Most of her cultural references of the time are also mine. We suffered the same winters. Wore the same kind of clothes. Listened to the same songs on the radio. Watched the same tv shows.

It was later on in the book, basically once Barack came on the scene, where things started to drag and I started to hear, "Blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah blah, blah blah blah. Blah blah. Blah blah. Blah... I don't know... it got... boring and tedious and I wished I had the physical copy of the book so I could kind of skim ahead. Maybe, it's just, politics BORES THE FUCK OUT OF ME. I don't know. I understand why she made the choice, but the way she portrayed Barack as this mythical uberman was kind of corny and creepy. Girlfriend, he was a shitty husband. Sorry. Anyone who has a calling, as he did, as any artist or religious or political person does, has to pursue the dream to the detriment of other things in their life. That's just the way it is. You basically raised those girls yourself and maybe you can't admit it but you did. He went after his political aspirations and you took on the supporting role even if you insisted on having your career as well. You just had to work twice as hard. And that's fine. That was your choice.

Plus, it got kind of long winded and preachy at times and believe me, I BASICALLY AGREED WITH EVERYTHING Michelle Obama believed in, was trying to accomplish! We get it... you want to advocate for young girls all over the world just like your mom did for you, just like you do for your own daughters. Got it. Over and over. Got it. You want to help underpriveleged kids because you grew up on the southside of Chicago. Yeah, yeah, it's tough for these kids. Gangs and drugs and drive-bys and unhealthy foods. Got it! Over and over again, got it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, this book could have edited out quite a bit of repetitious meanderings and still gotten the point across. It's a good book, it is. But maybe get the audiobook to enjoy Michelle's melifluous and expressive reminisings of her childhood and family members and school and blah blah through the physical copy when you get to the later years and the politics ensue.

I'm not a huge reader of biographies but with the 2020 election approaching this year I picked up both Michelle Obama's "Becoming" and Barack Obama's "Audacity of Hope", both in audiobook form and read by the authors themselves.

While the latter is interesting, it reads more like a manifesto for someone hoping to run for president, outlining his beliefs and platform. The former is a more interesting read as it was written after the Obama presidency ended; there's no motive here in trying to persuade voters, they already succeeded and that journey is over as she writes this book. As such it comes across as more conversational and candid, and much less political - she says herself she doesn't enjoy politics.

The sweet story of how she met her husband, and the view from inside the presidency as they tried to raise their daughters in something even remotely resembling normalcy while also trying to find time to do some good for the country is touching, particularly so considering the Trump presidency that followed. Every "normal" choice they made, every human touch and moment of compassion, so obviously would never have happened under Trump. Listening to her clear compassion for military vets, how much she clearly adores her husband and daughters, and how often she would visit the hospitals to talk to injured soldiers only emphasizes the contrast between the Obamas and the Trumps. It was both encouraging to hear and deeply depressing - which is why I didn't start listening until after it was clear Biden had won the 2020 election.

If you're interested in the Obama family and how they dealt with their service on a personal level, as normal human beings, this is a very interesting read. If you're after political discussion probably look to Barack Obama's new book instead; this is not political except insofar as the people in it are unavoidably entwined with politics by virtue of who they are.

I'm a little late to the Becoming party, partially because I checked the book out from the library. When I realized the audio book was read by Michelle Obama, the author herself, I knew I needed to listen to it.

I don't think there's any amount of gushing I can do or say that hasn't already been said and done for this book. It's amazing. This is a must listen, or read if listening is not a possibility.

I listened with interest to learn of the life Mrs. Obama led prior to her life in the public eye as FLOTUS. I grew nostalgic over the recounting of the first inauguration of President Obama. I was angry and outraged over the things the Obama family had to endure, some of which I'd already known and some of which I hadn't. The last couple hours of the book were hard to listen to, starting with the Sandy Hook mass shooting. I had to stop it somewhat frequently to get through. But it is still so worth the complete story.

Overall, I can't recommend this book, especially the audio book, enough.