Extraordinary praise for
BECOMING

“A serious work of candid reflection by a singular figure of early-21st-century America… Becoming is refined and forthright, gracefully written and at times laugh-out-loud funny….In finally telling her story, Obama is doing several things with this book. She is taking the country by the hand on an intimate tour of everyday African-American life and ambition, while recounting her rise from modest origins to the closest this country has to nobility. She’s meditating on the tensions women face in a world that speaks of gender equality but in which women still bear the greater burdens of balancing career and family, even with a forward-thinking husband like Barack Obama. And she is reminding readers that African-Americans, like any other group, experience the heartbreak of infertility, as she describes the challenges she and her husband confronted in order to become parents….One of the great gifts of Obama’s book is her loving and frank bearing-witness to the lived experiences of the black working class, the invisible people who don’t make the evening news and whom not enough of us choose to see.”

—Isabel Wilkerson, The New York Times Book Review

“ Becoming is inspirational without trying to be. From the first words, the very warmth that permeates its author emanates from the pages…. Becoming manages to be a coming-of-age tale, a love story and a family saga all in one. More importantly, this book is a reminder that America is still a work-in-progress, and that hope can be an action word if we allow it to be. Becoming is a balm that America needs, from a woman America does not yet deserve.”

—Angie Thomas, Time

“Deeply personal and refreshingly honest…She’s thoughtful, humorous, bracingly revealing, and when it’s time, she does us all the favor of showing us the human side of a man worshipped by so many….It’s human and genuine and welcoming to see the layers of humanity she holds open….Michelle Obama’s story can maybe inspire you to find a path for your own story.”

—Shonda Rhimes, Shondaland

“A sometimes surprisingly intimate look at the life of the former first lady… Becoming is satisfying for the quiet moments in which Mrs. Obama, the woman who supported a black man named Barack all the way to the presidency, gets to let down her hair and breathe as Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, girl of the South Side.”

—Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic

“Every sentence Obama writes makes a statement.”

—David Canfield, Entertainment Weekly

“Many black women can imagine Michelle Obama as a good girlfriend; her struggles are relatable. It’s comforting to read that she, too, battles insecurity, wondering if she’s good enough.”

—Wendi C. Thomas, Chicago Tribune

“An evocative look back…and a clear–eyed exposition of what came after.”

—Sandra Sobieraj Westfall, People

“Candid [and] engaging.”

— The Economist

“A pioneering and important work…Obama has sworn to tell her readers everything, and she delivers on that promise. From the silly to the surreal, from the momentous to the mundane, from the tragic to the transformative, she tells it all. As she shares her story, you are struck that every word is honest, brave and real….As first lady, Obama shattered the mold…. Becoming shatters the mold, too….The greatest contribution of Becoming is the inspiration that Obama gives to press onward.”

—Allyson Hobbs, San Francisco Chronicle

“A complex, accomplished life recounted with confidence and candor…Every page sparkles with directness and grace.”

—Douglas Brinkley, The Boston Globe

“More like a novel than a political memoir, the First Lady’s book reveals its author as utterly, viscerally human….Beautiful and extraordinary…so surprisingly candid, richly emotional, and granularly detailed that it allows readers to feel exactly what Michelle herself felt at various moments in her life.”

—Curtis Sittenfeld, Vanity Fair

“[ Becoming ] crackles with blunt, often searing observations about politics, race and gender in America.”

—Connie Schultz, The Washington Post

“A warm, intimate coming-of-age story of a strong-minded girl who grew up to become one of the most powerful and influential women in the country.”

—Laurie Hertzel, Minneapolis Star Tribune

“A self-aware, vulnerable, and often funny retelling of her life that doubles as a roadmap for women and girls who are similarly navigating unfamiliar territory, even with potentially lower stakes than the White House.”

—Prachi Gupta, Jezebel

“In Becoming, Obama doesn’t write so much as talks to her readers as she always has to a nation that fell in love with her—in clear, frank and forthcoming terms, as a black woman in America with a bridge called her back and a wisdom to lay bare…who Michelle Obama was before she was FLOTUS is a woman you feel glad and grateful to have back in our midst—the striver, an astonishing mix of resilience, joy, pragmatism and grace.”

—Rebecca Carroll, Los Angeles Times

“An engrossing memoir as well as a lively treatise on what extraordinary grace under extraordinary pressure looks like.”

— Kirkus Reviews , starred review

Published in the United States by Crown, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

Crown and the Crown colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

Originally published in hardcover in the United States by Crown, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York, in 2018.

“A Conversation with Michelle Obama” first appeared on BecomingMichelleObama.com in 2018. Questions copyright © 2018 by Penguin Random House LLC. Michelle Obama’s responses copyright © 2018 by Michelle Obama.

Photograph credits appear on this page .

ISBN 9781524763145

Ebook ISBN 9781524763152

crownpublishing.com

Book design by Elizabeth Rendfleisch, adapted for ebook

Cover design: Christopher Brand

Cover photograph: Miller Mobley

ep_prh_5.6.1_140192541_c0_r1

To all the people who have helped me become:

the folks who raised me—Fraser, Marian, Craig, and my vast extended family,

my circle of strong women, who always lift me up,

my loyal and dedicated staff, who continue to make me proud.

—

To the loves of my life:

Malia and Sasha, my two most precious peas, who are my reasons for being,

and finally, Barack, who always promised me an interesting journey.

Extraordinary praise for BECOMING

Extraordinary praise for
BECOMING