Becoming

Man, where do I begin. This book taught me so much about Michelle as we as her husband. She was vulnerable, honest, and caring. I always adored her and now I have gained a wealth of respect as well. Her upbringing assisted in making her into the woman that we see today. This is a must read book for everyone especially women and young ladies.

Absolutely wonderful. I only got to listen to the first half read by Michelle before I ran over my library loan, but by then I could read the second half in her voice. What a treat to enter her world through her eyes and learn the backstory to so many well known events. She's so thoughtful and insightful and has a way of distilling complex matters into a perfect sentence or line that's pure art.

Listened to the audiobook and LOVED it. May be the best audiobook memoir I've listened to thus far. Michelle Obama is an amazing, strong, intelligent, caring, sensitive, independent, ambitious, creative woman – plus a whole other suitcase of redeeming qualities I haven't unpacked here. All of this shines through in her book and all the more so in the lilt of her unwavering voice. I highly recommend listening to this to learn more about her childhood, the “backstage” of elections and the white house, what it's like to be married to the president and raise children in the white house, how to maintain sanity and grace on an international stage, and how to stay grounded and thankful through it all. Her story is incredible and she's an inspiration through and through. And a beautiful writer! Highly recommend.

Leading up the 2008 and 2012 elections, I learned more than I ever expected about Barack Obama. Somehow in all that time, Michelle Obama played the classic wife role, away from the spotlight unless it intersected her husband. Her story is so much more driven by grit, inspiration and an overwhelming drive to improve things for other people. This was a refreshing look into what public service can and should look like - even when it's split between the public and private sector.

I listened to this audiobook in very small doses for many months now because I just didn't want it to be over.

What more can I say about this brilliant role model of a woman that is Michelle Obama that hasn't already been said. Her story is inspirational, her narration is excellent and this memoir is a must read. Go read it or listen to it if you haven't already because you are missing out.

I loved the behind the scenes nature of the book and getting a glimpse into a person's life who didn't choose to be a political figure, but happened to be married to someone who did. I had never put much thought into the experience of the spouses or other family members of political leaders and I am glad I got to see life from Michelle Obama's perspective. I appreciated seeing the struggles Michelle went through, not only because she married Barack Obama, the Senator and the President, but also just growing up on the South Side of Chicago in the 1970s.

I found the last quarter of the book to be more moving and inspiring than the earlier parts of the book, but I still very much enjoyed the beginning and hearing about Michelle's life prior to being Michelle Obama the political figure and I know that reading about her early life is critical to understanding how she came to be the positive, dedicated, and hardworking person she is today.

I highly recommend the audiobook as Michelle narrates it herself and I think that lends a lot of personality to the book.

Inspiring, personal, and relatable.

Inspiring to see the sheer amount of work that the Obamas put in, both during and before the presidency. Great tales from them working hard and pushing through exhausting, tough times.

Lots of great thoughts on parenting. I enjoyed the details on how Barack worked, and the solitude he demanded.

Does anyone else feel like they are personal friends with Michelle after reading this book? Or maybe that is more a wish then anything. I loved hearing her story of becoming. Gaining insight into life as FLOTUS and being constantly in the public eye. She is intelligent, articulate and warm. I'm not even American and I miss her sigh.

AUDIOBOOK

This book was incredible! I laughed, I cried, I reflected, I learned, and I was left in awe at the possibilities of life.

I choose this book on a whim hours after having LASIK eye surgery done and needing something to listen to, and thankfully this was a long enough book to get me through my recovery. I have always been interested in understanding the workings of our government and life inside the white house, especially since watching the TV show Scandal.

This book was everything I hoped for and so much more! I loved Michelle's authenticity throughout! She speaks straight to the point, no BS, and she's not afraid to disagree with her husband. I loved hearing about their romance, trips to meet the Queen of England, and how she used her platform as FLOTUS.

I could rave on and on about the wonders of this book, but I don't want to spoil it. Go read it and allow it to impact you!

Highly recommend this book!

What an amazing women she is! I thoroughly enjoyed this book even though I don't read a lot of non fiction books. The photos in the middle were awesome too! I have seen the carpool karaoke she did with James Cordon that she talks about near the end. To learn she likes HGTV made my day, since I got addicted to that channel during lockdown.

I'll be upfront in my review here: I am not a democrat. I was not old enough to vote in the first election that Obama won, and for his second one, I did not vote for him. That being said, I have always found it insanely important to read books for both sides of the aisle, if only to humanize the people that we see in the media every single day. It's so easy to forget that the people in our White House, and leading our nation, are just regular human beings.

I really loved this book and Michelle has lived a full life filled with amazing people and community around her. She speaks often on how we are all very much the same. We have the same homes, hopes for our kids, dreams for our careers. The main reason I can't give this 5 stars is because of her divisive language, mostly at the end of the book, that paints republicans as the bad guys.

I understand that a lot of the stress about her children, safety, hatred pointed towards her family, and specifically her husband, came from the Republican side of the aisle. I commend her on the grace that she maintains throughout the book when talking about these issues. But it is harmful to see her point Republicans at the whole, rather than a few people who are responsible for those actions.

As a conservative, I rarely agreed with the politics of Obamas, but I deeply respect their love for people and their decisions made as parents to protect their girls. I am not a fan of trump at all, but I think most politicians, like most people, are just trying to help people in the way they think will yield the best results - how we get there is the main divide.

I wish this book had ended with the same grace and love as the first 90% but it just felt too politically charged toward one party rather than the few bullies with the loudest voices.