- Published: 13 April 2021
- ISBN: 9780241982976
- Imprint: Penguin General UK
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 464
- RRP: $30.00
Becoming
- Published: 13 April 2021
- ISBN: 9780241982976
- Imprint: Penguin General UK
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 464
- RRP: $30.00
A literary phenomenon
Guardian
An inspirational memoir that also rings true
Gaby Wood, Daily Telegraph, Five Stars
Intimate, inspiring and set to become hugely influential
Sunday Times
Inspirational without trying to be . . . a coming-of-age tale, a love story and a family saga all in one
Angie Thomas, TIME
This revealing memoir offers new insights into her upbringing on the south side of Chicago and the highs and lows of life with Barack Obama. . . Becoming is a 400-page expansion of this essential doctrine ['when they go low, we go high'], without compromising a refreshing level of honesty
Afua Hirsch, Guardian
Obama's memoir is a genuine page-turner, full of intimacies and reflections. . . Allied to this candour is a steeliness of purpose. It is no exaggeration to say that every page of this book is, explicitly or otherwise, a reproach to Donald Trump, and a call-to-arms to those who would defeat the 45th President and all that he stands for
Matt D'Ancona, Evening Standard
This is a rich, entertaining and candid memoir. And overall she's a fun person to sit alongside as she tells you the story of her life, warts and all. . . it is as beautifully written as any piece of fiction
Viv Groskop, i, Five Stars
I found myself lifting my jaw from my chest at the end of every other chapter, not because of any seedy insight into stories I'd always wondered about, but because, armed as I was with knowledge about her career, her mannerisms, and even her elbow-heavy dancing, this was not the Obama I thought I knew. She was more
Kuba Shand-Baptiste, Independent
Inspiring. . . After 421 pages of Becoming, I closed the book hoping that one day she would use her formidable intelligence, humanity - and humour - to offer a more tangible vision for how America might fight the rising tides of polarisation and hate
Financial Times
Open and engaging. . . Obama writes with candour about the good times and bad
Daily Express
Of course, Becoming is Michelle Obama's story, of how she moved from a girl on the South Side of Chicago to becoming one of the most powerful women in the world. But in the final pages of the book, Obama writes, "It's all a process, steps along a path. Becoming requires equal parts patience and rigor." Here, Obama is pushing us to reckon with our own becomings - to realise our own story and to have the power to tell it
The Pool
She's a woman we've all fallen in love with because she radiates joy and wisdom, and Becoming encapsulates this perfectly. It's also deeply honest - reading it makes you feel as though she's your close friend opening up to you
Red Online
Obama writes with a refreshing candor
The Atlantic
In the best moments of Becoming, the miracle of Michelle Obama arises
Vanity Fair
[A] polished pearl of a memoir
New York Times
This beautifully written memoir... Twenty-five years ago she fell in love with a driven idealist, a man determined not to accept the world as it was. She feared his forceful intellect and ambition might swallow hers; instead, she found her voice
Sunday Times
Becoming serenely balances gravity and grace, uplift and anecdote.... Becoming is frequently funny, sometimes indignant or enraged, and when Michelle describes her father's early death from multiple sclerosis it turns rawly emotional
Observer
This is a vivid and interesting account and all of that is to her credit. I certainly thought better of her by the end: she has put her heart into this
The Times
This is undeniably a political book, both a fierce critique of Donald Trump's administration's politics of hatred and a powerful remind of a better, more compassionate America
Metro
Candid, engaging. . . To read her reflections is to recall and hope for a better America. Mrs Obama pulls back the curtains around their lives in a way she could not while Mr Obama was in office. Besides her lovely turn of phrase, she is a gifted and empathetic observer
The Economist
Deeply moving. . . Becoming is fundamentally about how to be a person in the world, how to live a purposeful life, and how to use the chances you have been given
New Stateman
Her wonderful candid and affecting autobiography, Becoming. . . brims over with such emotional truthfulness. . .what a tale. With its generosity of spirit, self-knowledge and hope, it is the perfected antidote to the man who now lives in the White House. A plangent, defiant, honest and uplifting book
Sunday Telegraph, Five Stars
What a memoir. What a woman.
Spectator
This brilliantly written and emotionally authentic memoir fills in some important gaps...not just a fascinating read but a genuinely moving one too
Mail on Sunday, Five Stars