Book Club Guide

Becoming

by Michelle Obama · 2018 · Biography & Memoir

Key themes

Identity under scrutiny — how the first Black First Lady was defined by others
The specific ambition of the woman from the South Side of Chicago
What the White House costs and what it gives back

About this book

Michelle Obama's memoir traces her journey from the South Side of Chicago through Princeton, Harvard Law School, a career in public service and eight years in the White House. Intimate, politically engaged and carefully crafted, it is one of the bestselling memoirs ever published.

Published in 2018, Becoming has sold over fifteen million copies and has been translated into over 35 languages. It spent over 114 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.

Discussion questions

Obama describes being highly scrutinised and having her identity challenged in new ways throughout her life. How does she develop a coherent sense of self across these varied contexts?
The memoir is also a portrait of a marriage under extraordinary pressure. What does Obama reveal about her relationship with Barack — and what does she deliberately withhold?
The title Becoming is present-tense — not Became. What does this framing say about the book's argument — about identity as perpetual process rather than achieved state?
Obama writes about race in America as lived experience rather than abstraction. How does this affect your engagement with the political and historical content?
Becoming is one of the bestselling memoirs of all time. What does it offer its enormous audience — and is there anything in its appeal that is also a limitation?