‘Becoming’
A First Lady’s Journey
What’s The Buzz Golden Divas?
The buzz is all about our Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s highly anticipated guaranteed million-seller political memoir ‘Becoming’ which was released yesterday.
It is intimate, powerful, and inspiring!
In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America—the first African American to serve in that role—she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history.
Michelle established herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments.
Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare.
‘BECOMING’
This must-read candid and revealing 426-page book describes Michelle’s upbringing on Chicago’s South Side, as well as her time at Whitney Young and Princeton University. It is also about Michelle’s complicated relationship with the political world that made her famous. Obama also shares such deeply personal revelations as suffering a miscarriage and sharply criticizes President Donald Trump for promoting the false “birther” rumor that Barack Obama was not a U.S. citizen.
Michelle divides the memoir into three parts:
Becoming Me, Becoming Us, Becoming More
The first section, ‘Becoming Me’ is an in-depth, often sociological exploration of Chicago and the people and institutions there. Its textured discussion of gentrification, public education, race, and class are reminders that Obama majored in sociology and minored in African American studies at Princeton University.
‘I had so much – an education, a healthy sense of self, a deep arsenal of ambition – and I was wise enough to credit my mother with instilling it in me.’
The second section, ‘Becoming Us,’ is a romp through her romance with Barack Obama, starting a family with him and her search for work that she loved. It begins with words that have never before been written by a first lady about her man: “As soon as I allowed myself to feel anything for Barack, the feelings came rushing — a toppling blast of lust, gratitude, fulfillment, wonder.”
‘I’d married an outside-the-box thinker; I had to remind myself … We were learning to adapt, to knit ourselves into a solid and forever form of us.’
The third section, ‘Becoming More’ traverses their life as public figures. It contains her view of her legacy and accomplishments as first lady and what it felt like to live under the intense scrutiny she faced. As she campaigned for her husband’s reelection in 2012, she writes that she felt “haunted” by the ways she’d been criticized and by people who had made assumptions about her based on the color of her skin.
“When they go low, we go high.”
Now for those who may be expecting some spilling of the tea, gossip bashing, or a chance to get a political score this may not be the book for you.
You know our Golden Diva has too much class for that, after all, she is the famous first lady with an international following with a relatively limited history of discussing her private life, especially her eight years in the White House.
So what does that mean? You may ask. It means Michelle is inviting us into her world!
As you can imagine interviews are lined up left and right to get a chance to talk to the woman with the humble beginnings from the Southside of Chicago to the Whitehouse.
Obama kicked off her 10-city book tour put together by Live Nation, the world’s largest concert promoter, at The United Center, moderated by Oprah Winfrey (Oprah selected ‘Becoming’ for her book club) now you know that was a sold-out book signing plus the hottest ticket in town! She took not only Chicago by storm, but she will be taking the United States to the next level of elevation by reading some prodigious literature.
A Weekend of Michelle!
Last Saturday BET ran the movie ‘Southside With You’ starring Tika Sumpter and Parker Sawyers. The film chronicles the summer 1989 afternoon when the future President of the United States, Barack Obama, wooed his future First Lady, Michelle Obama, on a first date across Chicago’s South Side.
Last Sunday Michelle Obama opens up in an exclusive one on one interview with ‘Good Morning America’ co-anchor Robin Roberts to talk about her memoir ‘Becoming Michelle: A First Lady’s Journey on 20/20 which aired on ABC Sunday, Nov. 11, at 9 p.m. ET. The interview featured intimate and honest conversations as Michelle Obama opens up about miscarriage, IVF, and marriage counseling.
Windy City Live with Val Warner interviewed the first lady Michelle Obama about her new book “Becoming” at her alma mater Whitney Young Magnet High School in Chicago; this was her only Chicago TV interview.
In this interview Obama reflected on her historic journey from the South Side to the 
White House, ultimately “Becoming” a role model for millions.
From first lady to mom-in-chief, Michelle Obama has spilled secrets on how she balanced work and family in public and in private. Plus, what her husband really says about her new book.
Some other series of big names that will appear with the former first lady is Reese Witherspoon, Michelle Norris, Sarah Jessica Parker and former Whitehouse aid Valerie Jarrett.
The former first lady has launched her book tour in a scale of venues; there has never been a rollout quite like the one for Obama’s memoir “Becoming,” with stops including the Pepsi Center in Denver and American Airlines Center in Dallas. While famous authors have been likened to rock stars for years, Obama is the first to promote her book on a scale common for top musical performers, even using the entertainment company Live Nation.
Talk about taking the country back and ‘Making America Great Again’ (yes, I had to go there) at least in this well written, awe-inspiring book; she is our ‘Golden Diva’ that can do it!
Michelle is living her ‘Best Life On The Otherside of 50’ post the Whitehouse!
Ladies if you want to enjoy a great reading experience this is the hottest book out there to kick off the holiday season, and it is a great stocking stuffer.
‘Becoming’ is some serious girl power truths!
You get a book, you get a book, you get a book!!
Make sure you get yours before they sell out!
Sources:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/becoming/id1352746782?mt=11
https://abc7chicago.com/society/wcl-exclusive-interview-with-michelle-obama/4682276/
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/09/books/michelle-obama-book-becoming.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/in-revealing-new-memoir-michelle-obama-candi
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4258698/