Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming provides insight into the former First Lady’s childhood, background, and psyche throughout her life. It starts on the South Side of Chicago, through her years studying at Princeton and Harvard Law School, through her early years as a lawyer, and on to her time in the White House. Her experiences as a Black woman growing up in the aftermath of the Civil Rights Movement and as feminism gained support socially and politically, as well as her role as a mother and wife to the 44th President of the U.S., are central setpieces of the memoir.
Becoming sold more than almost any other book in history during its first week of sales, only topped by Harper Lee’s...