BecomingBecoming
What it's about
Michelle Obama's memoir of her life, from growing up in a working-class family on Chicago's South Side, through Princeton, Harvard Law School and a corporate law career, to meeting a summer associate named Barack Obama. It follows their marriage, motherhood, his rise in politics, and her eight years as First Lady, including what it was like to be the first Black woman in that role under constant public scrutiny.
Why it's worth reading
It's warm, candid and funny, more about family, identity and finding your voice than about politics, and readers of all political views have embraced it. It's one of the best-selling memoirs ever published.
You'll love it if you liked
Educated, Born a Crime or When Breath Becomes Air
Good to know
It's 450 pages but reads quickly, and the audiobook is read by Michelle Obama herself.
By the numbers
- Readers96 out of 100 · counts 40%+44
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%+0
- Bestseller82 out of 100 · counts 32% (its stronger lane)+29
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 15%+0
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero.
#1 New York Times bestseller (20 weeks at #1). 4.43★ from 1.3M Goodreads ratings.
Where it ranks
- #14 of the 168 memoirs and biographies we rank
- #33 of the 666 modern books we rank
- #73 of the 1,405 books we rank
Bestseller
- #1 New York Times bestseller (20 weeks at #1)
Reads as
True story
If you like this, read next
Educated
Between the World and Me
When Breath Becomes Air
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
Born a Crime
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer