I don't read biographies or autobiographies. It is not my genre but I am very interested in problems around us and I knew that Becoming will include topics I care about.
Feminism, racism and equality were strongly intertwined with Michelle Obama's life and so they are included in the book. These themes resonate within me strongly and hence I really enjoyed the life story of a first First lady of colour.
The book didn't make me cry or made me shocked. It wasn't an emotional rollercoaster. It was steady and intellectual. It was about politics but it wasn't boring. I don't know much about the American political system or the life of any of the presidents. But this book was not about that, this book was written from a point of view of a mother and a mundane woman like your mom or my mom. The story did make me tear up a little bit or gave me goosebumps, but not because of a surpriseing or shocking revelations but because of the power that actions of Michelle Obama carry.
This book review can't give much justice to the quality of this book so I selected some quotes. If you like any of these, you should read the book.
“Now I think it’s one of the most useless questions an adult can ask a child—What do you want to be when you grow up? As if growing up is finite. As if at some point you become something and that’s the end.”
“For every door that’s been opened to me, I’ve tried to open my door to others. And here is what I have to say, finally: Let’s invite one another in. Maybe then we can begin to fearless, to make fewer wrong assumptions, to let go of the biases and stereotypes that unnecessarily divide us. Maybe we can better embrace the ways we are the same. It’s not about being perfect. It’s not about where you get yourself in the end. There’s power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice. And there’s grace in being willing to know and hear others. This, for me, is how we become.”
“It’s remarkable how a stereotype functions as an actual trap. How many “angry black women” have been caught in the circular logic of that phrase? When you aren’t being listened to, why wouldn’t you get louder? If you’re written off as angry or emotional, doesn’t that just cause more of the same?”
... and probably my most favourite one:
“Women endure entire lifetimes of these indignities—in the form of catcalls, groping, assault, oppression. These things injure us. They sap our strength. Some of the cuts are so small they’re barely visible. Others are huge and gaping, leaving scars that never heal. Either way, they accumulate. We carry them everywhere, to and from school and work, at home while raising our children, at our places of worship, anytime we try to advance.”
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