Did you know the president of the USA and his family aren’t ever allowed to open the windows in the White House residence to get a breath of fresh air, for security reasons? Michelle Obama’s autobiography is worth a read for so many reasons – that’s just one.
Usually when I’m writing a review I refer to the author by their last name, but I find that the word ‘Obama’ instantly conjures up an image in my mind of Barak, as President. This is a tiny illustration of what it must mean to be Michelle; always and ever The Wife Of Barak Obama. Becoming highlights the fact that she was always her own person before, during and after she was First Lady, and a very impressive person at that.
Coming from a loving blue collar family crammed into a small apartment in Chicago, Michelle’s parents expected her to do her best at everything she attempted, and she did, in spades. She was a control freak from a young age; the kind of little girl who didn’t like to invite friends over to play with her barbie dolls in case they messed them up. And after she’d excelled at school and university and in her legal career, she fell in love with a man who was always late for everything and left his clothes in piles on the floor. He did have a bit of vision, though.
I like that, in this book, Michelle doesn’t hide her utter lack of enthusiasm for politics or her irritation about her husband’s political career constantly taking him away from their family. She notes Baracks’s acknowledgment that he spent only six days at home during the first six months of his elder daughter’s life. These sound like tough years for Michelle; trying to do meaningful work and be present for their children while also questioning the value of what Barack was doing. In the end, though, she supported his run for President because she genuinely believed he was the best person for the job.
Once in the White House, it sounds as if the family saw more of Barack than before as they were, as she notes, ‘living above the shop’. While acknowledging the many privileges of their position, she recounts how she struggled with the constant scrutiny and security that was part of their lives and fretted about the effect it was having on their daughters. In response, she tried to use her influence to do some good.
Barack’s two term students as President ended just as their elder daughter was finishing high school, when he would finally have time to spend with her. The poignancy of this was not lost on Michelle.
I would have liked to hear more about Michelle’s views on the President who came after Obama and what that says about America. She writes of her shock and horror at the results of the 2016 election, but states she “is not a political person, so I’m not going to attempt an analysis of the results.” She is however an intelligent person, and that sounds to me like a cop out. She notes she ‘stopped even trying to smile’ during Trump’s inauguration, but I’d like to know what it was like showing Trump and his wife around the private parts of the White House, as she records the Bush family doing for the Obamas. What would a personal interaction between Trump and Michelle be like, after she had so publicly condemned him for his bullying and misogyny? Interesting, that’s what it would be. But it’s not in here.
Still, as an autobiography, this is excellent. It starts off a little slow but stick with it because by the end it’s a real page turner.