BECOMING by MICHELLE OBAMA (2018)

Several years ago, just after Barack Obama was elected president, a good friend of mine remarked to me, "Don't talk to me about Michelle Obama. I despise her." I was quite taken aback, both by the vehemence in her voice and the use of the word "despise." I don't believe many people feel that strongly about a First-Lady. Coward that I am (or peace keeper, to give it a more favorable slant) I backed away from the subject. I didn't ask her why she felt that way. I suspected we had voted for different candidates, and I didn't want politics to interfere in our friendship. I wish now I had asked, because our friendship died anyway.

At the time I knew little about Michelle Obama, certainly not enough to know if I liked or disliked her. I knew that she was a lawyer, that she was attractive, and that she had a certain air of dignity which seemed appropriate for a FLOTUS. As the years of the Obama administrations passed, I was aware of her efforts to promote good nutrition and to fight childhood obesity. I was aware that she was criticized by some because school children didn't like their newly revised meals. Well, kids don't like to study history or English as much as they like to play video games. It's logical that they wouldn't like carrot sticks as well as they like tater tots. It seemed to me that people were looking for reasons to criticize.

This autobiography informed me of the multitude of things I did not previously know about Michelle Obama. For example:
*She grew up on the South Side of Chicago, which is not an affluent neighborhood;
*Her parents were working-class, not professionals;
*She graduated from Princeton and Harvard Law School;
*She held a prestigious position at a major law firm before resigning to accept more rewarding work for non-profit agencies;
*She apparently always put her children first when considering any career decision;
*She is 5'11" tall. (I am always fascinated by tall people.)

After reading this book, I would consider Michelle Obama as entirely admirable. Of course, an autobiography invariably presents a favorable impression. I would also consider this to be well written. Of course, famous people sometimes employ ghost writers, but her education would lead one to believe that she actually did the writing herself.

I have long believed that most of the criticism of the Obamas stemmed from closet racism. I may be wrong. I hope so.