Michelle Obama’s new book is self-help — but it goes high with a hefty dose of political activism
The former First Lady and U.S. Senator spent most of her husband’s time at his side. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2010, and died a year later, at age 93.
Now she’s telling the stories of her husband and the family he served, and she hopes to inspire by writing a memoir of her own. She’ll be working with a professional ghostwriter, a former U.S. Senate staffer said.
“It’s not a memoir per se, but it’s not a work of fiction. These are very human stories…The idea that I could write a book just based on my experience was intimidating,” Obama wrote in her memoir, “Becoming,” published by Simon & Schuster on Sept. 7.
“In many ways it’s been a learning experience for me about who I am and how my experiences reflect those of other people. As a child of privilege, the stories I wrote for my autobiographical novel — ‘Dreams from My Father’— felt a little like a parable. The story, for a long time, played in my head on repeat. With this book, I hoped to write a book that was a true story and a work of fiction.”
“Becoming” explores the political career of the nation’s first black president who was first lady to three generations of African-American parents. The book, which also includes a foreword by former President Bill Clinton, has been a political and media frenzy and sold more than 1.5 million copies, according to publisher Simon & Schuster.
It’s already sold more than one million copies in print and digital downloads.
Obama said that much of what she learned from writing the book is something she plans to apply in her own life in the form of a new presidential campaign.
Her memoir is described as part memoir and part autobiography about the role of women in politics.
“A lot of this book is about me. I’ve learned a lot about myself as a woman growing up in this great nation and
