‘NO CHALLENGE IS TOO GREAT FOR TODAY’S YOUNG WOMEN’
Michelle Obama talks life in the White House and why she feels optimistic
Former First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama has just published her memoir,
(Viking, £25), in which she recounts the experiences that helped her become who she is today – from her childhood in South Side Chicago and her years as an executive balancing the demands of work, marriage and motherhood to her time spent at the White House. With warmth, she describes her triumphs and disappointments. She says she hopes the book will make readers ‘think about your own story, and trust that it will help you become whoever you aspire to be. Your story is what you have, what you will always have. It is something to own.’ On the eve of its publication, editor-in-chief, Gaby Huddart, was invited with other Hearst editors to attend a special interview with Michelle about her book by legendary talk show host Oprah Winfrey at the publisher’s headquarters in New York – an extract from this interview begins on page 26. She was also fortunate to meet Michelle with the editor-in-chief of
US, Jane Francisco (both pictured with Michelle, above) and to pose some questions. Michelle Obama – who loves talking ‘more than anything’ – reveals what life in the White House was like, the advice she’d like to give to the Duchess of Sussex and the optimism she feels for the next generation… I think it’s the idea that no one is in charge of my happiness but me. It’s not necessarily something I was told in one lightning-bolt moment, but instead it’s something I’ve learnt over many years, through many conversations with my husband, my friends and family, and, most importantly, with myself.
When we’re getting pulled in every direction, it’s so easy to find a scapegoat – work is too demanding, the kids are acting up, there’s just too much on our plates. We can get lost in the frustration and lose sight of the control we have over our own lives. As women, our identities evolve with the different hats we wear – we’re independent women, we’re professionals, we’re spouses and mothers. It’s easy for our sense of self to get swallowed up by the other people in our lives, even when they’re people that we care for and love deeply. Take it from someone who’s married to Barack Obama. He is the love of my life, and he is a force all his own. He’s always had deep passions and strong ideas about the kind of life he wanted to lead, and, back when we were first dating, my sense of my own future wasn’t as fully developed. So I realised that I had to figure out who I was before we could build a life together that was satisfying for us both. I put in the work back then. I did a lot of journalling and soul-searching. And, to be honest, it’s a lifelong process, something that every couple has to deal with at some level.
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First, let me say just how much I’ve enjoyed all of my time with Prince Harry and his family – I find him incredibly genuine and good-hearted – and I hope nothing but the best for them both. So what I’ll offer here is just a bit of perspective from my own experience. Like me, Meghan probably never dreamt that she’d have a life like this, and the pressure you feel – from yourself and from others – can sometimes feel like a lot. So my biggest piece of advice would be to take some time and don’t be in a hurry to do anything. I spent the first few months in the White House mainly worrying about my daughters, making sure they were off to a good start at