Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER • ONE OF TIME ’S 100 MUST-READ BOOKS OF 2022 • In an inspiring follow-up to her critically acclaimed, #1 bestselling memoir Becoming, former First Lady Michelle Obama shares practical wisdom and powerful strategies for staying hopeful and balanced in today’s highly uncertain world. There may be no tidy solutions or pithy answers to life’s big challenges, but Michelle Obama believes that we can all locate and lean on a set of tools to help us better navigate change and remain steady within flux. In The Light We Carry, she opens a frank and honest dialogue with readers, considering the questions many of us wrestle with: How do we build enduring and honest relationships? How can we discover strength and community inside our differences? What tools do we use to address feelings of self-doubt or helplessness? What do we do when it all starts to feel like too much? Michelle Obama offers readers a series of fresh stories and insightful reflections on change, challenge, and power, including her belief that when we light up for others, we can illuminate the richness and potential of the world around us, discovering deeper truths and new pathways for progress. Drawing from her experiences as a mother, daughter, spouse, friend, and First Lady, she shares the habits and principles she has developed to successfully adapt to change and overcome various obstacles—the earned wisdom that helps her continue to “become.” She details her most valuable practices, like “starting kind,” “going high,” and assembling a “kitchen table” of trusted friends and mentors. With trademark humor, candor, and compassion, she also explores issues connected to race, gender, and visibility, encouraging readers to work through fear, find strength in community, and live with boldness. “When we are able to recognize our own light, we become empowered to use it,” writes Michelle Obama. A rewarding blend of powerful stories and profound advice that will ignite conversation, The Light We Carry inspires readers to examine their own lives, identify their sources of gladness, and connect meaningfully in a turbulent world.
Lynne M. Spreen –
Michelle Obama has traveled far and learned much, and she is generous to share her thoughts with us. She says right in the beginning that there’s no magic formula for dealing with the constant change and endless anxiety of life. What she does offer is a glimpse into her personal toolbox, with some anecdotes about how she gained and uses the particular tools., I found myself laughing and nodding as I read her personal accounts (marriage is hard, she says, and sometimes you want to push your mate “out a window.” Which gave me a cartoon image of her pushing Barack…how unlikely! And yet, human.) I highlighted dozens of passages., I also appreciated that she gave us more of a glimpse of her emotional landscape than in Becoming, her first book. Still, this book was somewhat guarded, as was that one. You do get a sense of the deeper emotions around her life and world, and I think that’s because she’s the first and only, and she bears that weight carefully. Also, you can only wonder what kind of cruelty she’s endured to make her words so cautious., So that’s my one criticism: it’s a dense read. I found myself missing some points if I was tired or not paying close attention. However, if I DID pay attention, I got such gems as these:, “I wonder if it’s time to stop asking, ‘When will this end?’ and instead start considering a different, more practical set of questions about staying upright inside of challenge and change: How do we adapt? How do we get more comfortable, less paralyzed, inside of uncertainty?”, Who doesn’t want to know that? She also learned so much from her good, strong parents who gave her life tools. Here’s something she says about her father, who struggled with multiple sclerosis:, “With his centeredness, my dad was able to look past whatever mirror the world might have held up to him, all the ways a blue-collar Black man walking on crutches might otherwise be made to feel worthless or invisible. He didn’t focus on who he wasn’t, or what he didn’t have. Instead, he measured his value by who he was and what he had–love, community, food in the fridge, two tall and noisy kids, and friends knocking on his door. He saw these things as success and as reason to keep going. It was evidence he mattered.”, One of the main lessons / reminders I got from the book was to invest in my relationships; to maintain friendships, because if anything is the magic in life, that is. Also, to respect the person I am at my core, while letting the doubting side of my personality coexist with my healthy side. The Doubter is there to keep me anxious and I can’t get rid of her so might as well let her be. Even in the face of global horror or meanness closer to home, I will do the best I can and find comfort in knowing my own self-worth., Bottom line, this book is a worthwhile read, full of good strategies for staying whole in the face of modern weirdness, but it’s not a beach read!
Rie –
After finishing this book, I appreciate the vulnerability that our former First Lady shares. It’s so rare to have someone in such a high and privileged position portray anything but perfection…. and yet here it is, truth which allows the reader to relate and feel seen as well. I love the message of strength that arises from what we feel may be weaknesses in our lives, and which often can serve as our most important blessing in getting us to our own versions of success… aware that it was only because of that “weakness” that we were able to strive and overcome., It’s disheartening to read the 1 star reviews which emanate hateful and negative sentiments surrounding political beliefs and narratives, rather than focusing on the core message that this book offers. I’m grateful that most people are able to see past that and appreciate the book for what it offers., Mrs. O lays it out perfectly in the beginning, says that these are stories and tools that worked for her. People can customize it for their own needs, pulling the tools that are helpful and leaving the ones that they find less so. I’d find it tremendously difficult to believe a reader who claims it is impossible to take a single positive message that they could apply or even just appreciate from this book, especially after having lived through a pandemic which caused all of us to evaluate the tools we have at our disposal. Beautiful job Mrs. O. Thank you for your transparency and vulnerability in a world of people that always seem to always hide theirs. By you shining your light, we all learn to appreciate ours a little more.
TeeMee-Kraftqueen65-Obsessive Reader –
I have so much respect for the former First Lady, and her family, and having read her previous books, I had no doubt, this would live up to the high regards I had given those., It seems as if Michelle Obama holds nothing back when telling her story, her truth, offering her words of wisdom and encouragement to anyone interested in listening. She tells it with such dignity, as well as a sense of humility, a modicum of humor, a dash of wit, whether it involves a sense of pride or a reminder of hurtfullness and pain., Wise beyond her years, reminding you of an old soul., Highly recommend to all audiences looking for inspiration, or just a well thought out telling of truth as seen through a strong woman’s eyes.
Johanna –
This book gives answers to difficult questions about integrity. Why should people be honest? Why should they do the right thing? What can I do to help our world move forward? Find out with a good read!
P –
I found this book very interesting and enjoyed reading it. I like how she shared so much about life in the white house and how she explains how she sacrificed so much for her husband to pursue his dream.