Now in paperback—the intimate, powerful, and inspiring memoir by the former First Lady of the United States, featuring a new introduction by Michelle Obama, a letter from the author to her younger self, and a book club guide with 20 discussion questions and a 5-question Q&A #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • WATCH THE EMMY-NOMINATED NETFLIX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • NAACP IMAGE AWARD WINNER • ONE OF ESSENCE’S 50 MOST IMPACTFUL BLACK BOOKS OF THE PAST 50 YEARS In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America—the first African American to serve in that role—she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments. Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare. In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same.

This book details the fascinating life story of Michelle Obama, emphasizing her own personal and professional accomplishments, her life partnership with President Barack Obama, and her distinctive approach to the role of First Lady. Independent and supportive, elegant and down-to-earth, an accomplished professional and family anchor as her husband rose to the presidency, Michelle Obama is to many the consummate life partner in politics and the epitome of the 21st-century working mom. Michelle Obama: A Biography offers an unprecedented look at one of the most captivating women of our time, one who is sure to add her own distinctive legacy to the tradition of presidential wives. Ranging across the full arc of Michelle Obama's life, this revealing biography tells the story of her family background—her great-great-grandfather was a slave—her modest Chicago upbringing, her education and well-established legal career, and her relationship with her husband before, during, and after he reached the pinnacle of American politics.

This is the inspiring story of a modern American icon, the first comprehensive account of the life and times of Michelle Obama. With disciplined reporting and a storyteller’s eye for revealing detail, Peter Slevin follows Michelle to the White House from her working-class childhood on Chicago’s largely segregated South Side. He illuminates her tribulations at Princeton University and Harvard Law School during the racially charged 1980s and the dilemmas she faced in Chicago while building a high-powered career, raising a family, and helping a young community organizer named Barack Obama become president of the United States. From the lessons she learned in Chicago to the messages she shares as one of the most recognizable women in the world, the story of this First Lady is the story of America. Michelle Obama: A Life is a fresh and compelling view of a woman of unique achievement and purpose.

It will be a deeply reported book tracing Michelle's life from her beginnings to now. She was every parent's dream, skipping second grade because of her smarts, going on to Princeton and then Harvard Law School. The book will describe the South side of Chicago where the Robinson family grew up, Michelle's parents (her father had MS and worked for the city of Chicago, her mother stayed home), the hard-working culture of the Robinson family, Michelle's experience on the racially-tense campus of Princeton in the early 80s, her success at Harvard, how she experienced the death of her father and best friend, how she met Obama, the kind of partnership they have created, the kind of career as a lawyer and health care executive she pursued in Chicago, her views about political life and her aptitude for it, and her profile as a mother. The book will be based on the public record, on interviews she has given in the past, and on fresh interviews with her and members of her circle.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Michelle Obama’s worldwide bestselling memoir, Becoming, is now adapted for young readers. Michelle Robinson was born on the South Side of Chicago. From her modest beginnings, she would become Michelle Obama, the inspiring and powerful First Lady of the United States, when her husband, Barack Obama, was elected the forty-fourth president. They would be the first Black First Family in the White House and serve the country for two terms. Growing up, Michelle and her older brother, Craig, shared a bedroom in their family’s upstairs apartment in her great-aunt’s house. Her parents, Fraser and Marian, poured their love and energy into their children. Michelle’s beloved dad taught his kids to work hard, keep their word, and remember to laugh. Her mom showed them how to think for themselves, use their voice, and be unafraid. But life soon took her far from home. With determination, carefully made plans, and the desire to achieve, Michelle was eager to expand the sphere of her life from her schooling in Chicago. She went to Princeton University, where she learned what it felt like to be the only Black woman in the room. She then went to Harvard Law School, and after graduating returned to Chicago and became a high-powered lawyer. Her plans changed, however, when she met and fell in love with Barack Obama. From her early years of marriage, and the struggle to balance being a working woman, a wife, and the mom of two daughters, Michelle Obama details the shift she made to political life and what her family endured as a result of her husband’s fast-moving political career and campaign for the presidency. She shares the glamour of ball gowns and world travel, and the difficulties of comforting families after tragedies. She managed to be there for her daughters’ swim competitions and attend plays at their schools without catching the spotlight, while defining and championing numerous initiatives, especially those geared toward kids, during her time as First Lady. Most important, this volume for young people is an honest and fascinating account of Michelle Obama’s life led by example. She shares her views on how all young people can help themselves as well as help others, no matter their status in life. She asks readers to realize that no one is perfect, and that the process of becoming is what matters, as finding yourself is ever evolving. In telling her story with boldness, she asks young readers: Who are you, and what do you want to become?

ABOUT THE BOOK Michelle Obama is most famously known as America's First Lady. Her entrance into the public eye came as a result of her husband's role in politics, and his successful 2009 presidential election campaign. Not only is Michelle the first African-American first lady, she is also renowned for her role as a mother, philanthropist and for her fashion sense. Although it was becoming the first lady that made her well known world wide, she has since become an icon in her own right. Born in Chicago to a family that struggled financially, Michelle Obama displayed academic promise from a young age. It was through a combination of her mother's determination to make her daughter's life better, and Michelle's natural intelligence, that allowed her to progress on to Princeton University. Thanks to later becoming a lawyer, she met her husband, President Barack Obama, through a prestigious Chicago law firm. Michelle first gained entry to the public eye when she adopted a front-line supporting role during her husband's presidential campaign. She would make keynote addresses and frequently handle the media, while balancing her commitments as a mom. During the campaign, Michelle would make sure that she returned home in time to take care of her two daughters, Malia and Sasha. Taking this approach has allowed Michelle to become an icon for women everywhere, particularly moms. EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK Since the beginning of 2012, Michelle Obama and her family have faced a vital year for the family. This is the year where her husband will campaign for his second term in office, and as such their family image has been closely scrutinized. In recent months, Michelle has continued with her family life, as well as the campaigns that are true to her heart. Michelle has recently been quick to promote the same causes as her husband and as such she has been vocal in encouraging the rich to spread their wealth. She has questioned why families who earn a lot of money can feel good, when others continue to struggle. In a public address, Michelle said "If a family in this country is struggling, we cannot be satisfied with our own families' good fortune." Michelle has also begun to take her health campaigning to the next level, by launching a campaign that is targeted specifically at the Latino population of the USA. "Mi Plato" (My Plate), is a bilingual educational campaign that encourages those who reside within the Latino community to make better choices about what they eat. Buy a copy to keep reading! CHAPTER OUTLINE Biography of Michelle Obama + Introduction + Michelle Obama's Background and Upbringing + Michelle Obama's Major Accomplishments and Awards + Michelle Obama’s Personal Life + ...and much more

Growing up on Chicago's South Side, Michelle LaVaughn Robinson loved school and her family. Driven by her parents' passion for education and her own desire to succeed, she graduated first from Princeton and then Harvard Law School and landed a job at a prestigious law firm, where she met her soon-to-be husband, Barack Obama. While raising their two young daughters, Michelle Obama committed herself to public service. She kept that commitment as her husband's political career soared and worked hard to continue serving the public when her family landed in the White House. Follow Obama's journey from Chicago school kid to history-making First Lady and beyond as she continues to make her mark as an inspiring speaker, bestselling author, and agent for positive change.