Read It: Becoming

If you look through the Read It label on the blog, you will see that I am a fan of autobiographies, and Becoming from Michelle Obama is another addition to the list. First off, I like how the title and author of the book can be a play on words depending on how you read it, and, secondly, I like how she gives us a taste of her entire life story in her voice (no one else's). It's not just about her time as First Lady of the United States, but also includes her childhood and early adult years, as well as her time with Barack before they began their journey to The White House.

What I appreciated most about the book was her candid approach to talking about what African American people go through daily, and her view of it from the perch of First Lady. She provided a lot of lessons for me, and did a lot of heavy work that she didn't need to do. I recognise that and thank her for it. She took situations and issues that I read about daily on Twitter (again where I am grateful for the people that do a lot of heavy work that they shouldn't have to do), and added another layer. 

One thing that stood out most for me was where she talked about her hospital job at the University of Chicago, and the work she did to connect the people inside the hospital to the people living just outside the hospital. I felt incredibly connected to what she was talking about in that section of the book as I work in a hospital in an area of the city that is considered undesirable. The work that she put in to her job to bring the two very different communities together is what I would love to see where I work, and it is what happens when there are people at the table that have those life experiences and understand that it's possible to bring it all together.

The other thing that stood out for me was her kindness. It was an overarching theme in the book. She may not have intended it to be there, but it was. She honestly seems like she has the kindest and caring heart. I had the privilege to see her in person (not up close) when she came to the city as part of a tour she was doing across Canada. It's not very often that someone of her calibre comes to my city so I jumped on that opportunity. It was an experience unlike any other, and, again, she just radiated kindness. That is really an inspiration for me. She is a level that I aspire to reach.