BECOMING...

According to USA Today's Best Selling Books List of 2018, Michelle Obama's, "Becoming" is ranked number one in a list of 100! Now my question is, are you really surprised? Many times, this list is filled with fiction reads but this memoir of our former FLOTUS stood out amongst the crowd and is has even remained #1 on Amazon since the book debuted in November 2018. 

Now I must admit, I enjoyed some of that success as well as my first novel, Discovering Lita  literally debuted just a week earlier on Amazon. With Black Friday sales on the horizon and Christmas season fastly approaching, "Becoming" was on many people's shopping list. How I benefitted from this was while my readership shopped for Discovering Lita, many of them bought "Becoming" as well which increased the likelihood of those unfamiliar with my work seeing it under the infamous title "Customers who bought this item also bought"... The end result was the former FLOTUS' book popping up in on my book's page. That was a pretty cool victory in my eyes. 

But what's even cooler is that my dad, gifted me with "Becoming" and in my opinion, it was a very pleasant read. I didn't have specific expectations for the book, but what I found most interesting was her detailed description of her road to the White House which really started from childhood. "Becoming" was not a short read but it's length is very necessary in understanding the Michelle Obama we are familiar with today.

"Becoming" also made me think of my own story and as an African American woman who grew up on the South Side of Chicago from humble beginnings as well. I did not experience the consistency of a two parent household with a stay-home mom per se, but I can relate to the love of family that carried us through while growing up in the inner city with limited resources and opportunities in comparison to our Caucasian counterparts. But that's what makes this book so unique is because even with all of the odds stacked against Mrs. Obama, she still managed to become one of the most famous and admired women in America.

So I looked at this picture of myself the other day when I was a little girl saying my Easter speech at church and I started thinking about the "Becoming" journey I've been on my entire life. This picture speaks volumes to me as it is a reminder of where it all began. For those of you who read "Becoming" did the book make you think of your own personal journey?

Circa 1988 with my mommy on Easter Sunday