Uplifting book from First Lady

Becoming

AUTHOR: Michelle Obama PUBLISHER: Penguin RRP: $49.99 REVIEWER: Mary Ann Elliott

FORMER US President Barack Obama’s wife Michelle has become a celebrity figure in her own right.

Not that she has sought fame or accolades; this hardworking girl from Chicago’s South Side adapted reluctantly to her place in the global limelight and life in the White House.

In her book, Michelle Obama recalls her childhood and what it was like to be the only black woman in the halls at Princeton; then working as a high-powered corporate lawyer where a law student, Barack Obama, appeared in her office and upended all her carefully laid plans.

Dreaming of a simple family life, Michelle was catapulted into the limelight when her husband made his bid for president.

As First Lady during his eight-year term, she established herself as a powerful advocate for women around the world, while bringing up two daughters and maintaining a semblance of normal life as Obama led America through some of its most challenging times.

In her uplifting book she comes across as outspoken but compassionate, candid, yet with a sense of humour, and always gracious.

It’s a testimony to her considerable achievements both at home and in the public arena that she has remained essentially Michelle Obama, and she is still “becoming”.

‘‘ IN HER UPLIFTING BOOK SHE COMES ACROSS AS OUTSPOKEN BUT COMPASSIONATE, CANDID, YET WITH A SENSE OF HUMOUR, AND ALWAYS GRACIOUS.