I have always enjoyed reading a biography, autobiography or memoir, so when a friend suggested I read Becoming, Michelle Obama’s memoir, I listened with interest. My friend described the book as being very interesting without being political. That’s what sealed the deal for me. I wanted a book focused on behind the scenes of the White House rather than the political side of things. Here is the Amazon link in case you are interested: https://amzn.to/2JkUDLB

Becoming was a pleasure to read. Michelle Obama’s words flowed easily as she described her life beginning with her childhood and then moving on to her teenage years, her years in college and then, finally her courtship with Barack, marriage and becoming  the FLOTUS (First Lady of the United States). Learning about her family and background was fascinating. She grew up on the South Side of Chicago and had to worry about many scenarios that I never would have dreamed of as a child. She was honest and unapologetic when she discussed how both she and Barack had smoked marijuana in their teenage years. Much, much later in the book, she mentioned how a photographer had caught one of her daughters trying to sneak a cigarette. Many people would try to hide these facts or leave them out altogether. She could have easily left these things out of the book and no one would have been the wiser, however, it was clear from the beginning that she wanted to be her true self and tell her story – her entire story. I respect her very much for opening herself up in that way.

My favorite quote from the book was when Barack was running for the presidency he gave a speech where she quoted him as saying, “I don’t want to pit Red America against Blue America. I want to be the president of the United States of America.” Reading about their journey to the White House was exhilarating. I could hardly wait for her to get to the part where he was sworn in as president. I was excited to read about it, but then again, I was taking my time with it. This book became like a piece of bakery cake to me. It was so engaging, I wanted to nibble on it every night so that I could make it last as long as possible.

It was fascinating to read that the president placed his hand on a small, red Bible that belonged to Abraham Lincoln 150 years ago. What a piece of history! The night he was inaugurated, they attended TEN balls. At each of those balls, they danced to the same song, “At Last” because they had chosen it as their “first dance” song.

I wanted to read the behind the scenes things that happened and I wasn’t disappointed. She discussed things such as what they were responsible for paying for, personal shopping, their girls attending school, parties that she was responsible for planning, the role of the Secret Service and so much more. It was very surprising to read that if she or any member of their family wanted to stand outside on the Truman Balcony, they had to alert the Secret Service so that they could shut down the street and clear out the tourists. She explained that it just wasn’t worth the hassle so that she could enjoy a cup of tea outside. I had never given any thought to this at all, but even if I had, I never would have realized that the family couldn’t sit or stand on the balcony without first getting clearance. Even when they went out to eat or attended a play, all of the other patrons had to then pass through metal detectors that weren’t normally there. Knowing the extra trouble that everyone had to go through kept them from going out like that very often.

This book was totally engrossing and I loved every minute of it. I highly recommend reading it no matter what political party you side with or what your values are. You won’t be disappointed.