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Becoming Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Michelle Obama (Author, Narrator), Penguin Books Ltd (Publisher)

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Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Becoming by Michelle Obama.

Winner of the Grammy's Best Spoken Word Album 2020.

Winner of the 2020 Audie Award for Autobiography/Memoir.

An intimate, powerful, and inspiring memoir by the former First Lady of the United States.

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 United States 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 listeners 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.

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Product details

Listening Length	19 hours and 3 minutes
Author	Michelle Obama
Narrator	Michelle Obama
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com.au Release Date	13 November 2018
Publisher	Penguin Books Ltd
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B07B3M2FTG
Best Sellers Rank	50 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 2 in Biographies of Women (Audible Books & Originals) 2 in Biographies of Women (Books) 6 in Memoirs (Books)

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5 star		83%
4 star		11%
3 star		4%
2 star		1%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from Australia

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Louise

As long as Michelle Obama is alive,there is hope in the world.

Reviewed in Australia on 18 November 2018

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I bought the book on the first day it was published.I never expected it would be Ubputdownloadable as it is. I finished it in 3 days. It is refreshing, honest, well written and wise.

14 people found this helpful

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SSReadsALot

Becoming... Michelle Obama

Reviewed in Australia on 1 April 2019

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This was the first autobiography I’ve ever read, so I don’t know how to compare it to others, but I LOVED it. Every single word, on every single page. And that from someone who tends to skim through the boring bits in many books.

Living in Australia I saw the Obama’s in the news, of course, but I hadn’t followed them all that closely. I hadn’t felt a need to—after all, they were doing a great job. They were a highly respected first family, doing America proud. I saw the important bits, the bits that Australian media felt worthy of a spot on the evening news, but not a lot more. And although I listened to Barack’s 3 hour speech at the Nelson Mandela centenary celebration, I didn’t know all that much about Michelle even at that stage.

But in reading her book, I feel like I’ve come to know her. I learned so much about what a wonderful human being she is ... the hard work and perseverance that got her into Princeton, the long hours she spent as a lawyer trying to prove and better herself, and then, when she’d made it to the top, her constant efforts to make the world a better place ... for her own daughters as well as everyone else’s.

There was even one point, towards the end of the book, when I read about how she’d done Carpool Karaoke, and why. So of course I went to YouTube and watched it right away, and it made the whole experience so much more personal... almost like I was right there in the car with her.

Anyway, I loved the book, and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to read about her life, her background, small snippets of what it was like living in the White House, and her hopes for the future. She’s an inspiring woman, and she makes me feel both proud and hopeful.

7 people found this helpful

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A ‘first person’ writing experience to savour

Reviewed in Australia on 18 November 2018

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I am left stunned, excited and shocked by the many revelations this book has given me. Most of all though I cherish the obvious truth of the writing and appreciated the thoughts of Michelle behind some of the momentous events of her eight years in the White House. Her writings though start with her early life and the inspirations she sought from her piers and family. Her story is an amazing example of courage and determination to loosen the shackles of her heritage, engage it and drive herself forward to become America’s First Lady. It was interesting as well to learn about her efforts during the Obama years to be a First Lady that used the position to champion causes that to this day resonate with so many. As an international reader outside of the US, I learned a great deal about the nature of politics in the US from the standpoint of someone who lived inside that bubble and was able to extricate herself and her family with dignity and positive future resolve. As a portrait photographer I could but dream of having her as a subject before my camera. I can but dream.

8 people found this helpful

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Insightful and readable

Reviewed in Australia on 17 June 2019

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Well written, genuine and insightful. An insight into the American pyche and hopes. Interesting to note, what from the outside seems the usual American self absorption, imagining the US President to be leader of the free world, by this otherwise insightful woman. I wonder if she feels Trump is the leader of the free world? Forgivable given her devotion to her husband though.

Also noted, the usual American sense of outrage at the gun deaths in the US but the apparent inability to note how aberrant this is relative to other so-called developed countries, and to use this in argument. US public figures shy from comparing their country unfavorably to others, even when logical.

Good luck to good people like her and her husband who hold hope for change in what seems from the outside to be a irredemiably failed social experiment.

4 people found this helpful

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Maz from Melbourne

Excellent

Reviewed in Australia on 31 December 2018

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Thank you Michelle for being you. Becoming, progressing and learning with an open loving , generous and kind heart. You have affected the lives of millions and are a quite wonderful role model. May you and all your family continue to lead a happy, adventurous and fulfilling life. Marian Caldwell in Melbourne, Australia.

4 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

A really great lady

Reviewed in Australia on 22 November 2018

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I loved learning about Michelles childhood and the path she took. Im Australian and therefore not part of the political process of the USA. We had great respect for the Obamas in my country and I will always remember the dignity of the Obama administration.

6 people found this helpful

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Lady Nigella

Great memoir from an outstanding First Lady

Reviewed in Australia on 30 December 2018

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As a keen follower of US politics, I have always held Michelle Obama in the highest regard. An inspired, earnest and approachable person, she is arguably the brightest as well as the most charismatic and influential amongst her peer First Ladies. I was very eager to dive into her memoir so I set undivided time to read it through over a couple of days. Whilst reading the first two parts I thought the story would lend itself beautifully to a film script, the third part - the part that revolves around her tenure as First Lady - felt just like a more impersonal account that read like a chronicle and left me wanting more. This latter section felt at times superficial and did not deliver the same emotional impact as the preceding parts did. I guess that this gear shift may have been a conscious editorial choice driven by the current political context, as she appeared to have tried to keep it as neutral as possible. Besides a few heart-warming anecdotes and a number of tragedies such as the shoot out at Sandy Hook (whose accounts by the point of view of the personal impact felt cut short), there wasn’t much insight of what thoughts kept evolving in the years of the presidency and becoming who she is today. Instead, the choice was to have a legacy-laden detailed account of the remarkable accomplishments of all the policies that both President Obama and she championed replacing what could have been some more private reflections to follow on those laid out in the first two parts of the book. I could not give it 4 1/2 stars due to Amazon’s rating system but despite my thoughts on the third part, I do recommend this book highly.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Mountain-man

Disappointed

Reviewed in the United States on 14 December 2018

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Slow and boring and self boasting.

4,675 people found this helpful

Brenda Nelson

Great Read!!

Reviewed in the United States on 14 November 2018

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I read a lot of negative reviews, but I don’t understand why. I enjoyed reading her story from her perspective. Some parts made me sad; however, I’ll always view Michelle Obama as a role model.

2,024 people found this helpful

Slipknot

Wonderful

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 November 2018

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I thought I couldn't love this family more, but after reading this beautiful, moving story, I know that I and millions of others were so right to have faith in these genuinely good people. I am glad that Michelle gets to have her Barack back again, but oh, how very much they are missed - especially in contrast to what came after...

176 people found this helpful

LiamKincaid

The Case for the Defense - Part 1

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 February 2019

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Michelle and her husband accomplished and overcame a lot, even before they became the First Family. I think Obama's 2008 candidacy had a lot of energy and purpose. However, after he was in office, a lot of that energy dissipated and he failed to sufficiently differentiate himself from policies left down by his predecessors in many areas. What is good about Michelle's book is most of it does not focus on each and every cranny of every year in the Presidency. Most of it is her earlier life and events. The big events in the Presidency occupy very little space. I give this book one star because of the ending. Michelle clearly is very devoted and defensive of her husband and his achievements.

As much as we may not like it or agree with it, political office holders normally pave the way for their successors (whether they intend to or not). Obama's choices paved the way for Trump to campaign and to win the Presidency, much like G W Bush's choices paved the way for Obama. Michelle is content to not interpret the results, but bash some of the electorate for not voting for a woman and for voting for someone she describes in insults. For a family that is normally revered for deep analysis of complicated issues, Michelle's writing style and choice of words on this was very disappointing and in my opinion, narrow-minded. Michelle comes across as believing America was best and meaningful when her husband was it's President. She has a hard time seeming to come to terms with the fact that people might make different choices or that she and her husband will have to leave behind the mantle of being responsible for the nation, in their respective areas.

It was a disappointing and short handed book in my mind. Fans of the Obama's will find much to enjoy, I am sure. But those who enjoy deep analysis of history, will be disappointed. I hope that Barrack's book will be more insightful and deeper (The Case for the Defense - Part 2).

154 people found this helpful

absg

Tedious to read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 May 2020

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Of course, many people want to know about Michelle Obama. However, I was disappointed by this book. She writes so much about her ambition, she really got on my nerves with that. All the details where and with whom she worked on what, it was really tedious, I must say. There are many interesting bits about her private life, too. I loved reading about her childhood.
But it's not my favourite book. When I had finished it I was glad to get rid of it and pass it on to a friend.

85 people found this helpful

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