The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama: Book Review

The Light We Carry is an inspirational read filled with tips to keep us positive in uncertain times. I enjoyed it!

Acknowledgments: I borrowed this audiobook from my local library.

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From The Publisher:

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.

My Thoughts:

Michelle Obama is an authentic writer who shares her life challenges and the women who have imparted wisdom to guide her. Not only has she been the First Lady of the U.S., but she is also an independent thinker and advocate.

She addresses some of her most difficult situations including the many disrespectful comments made by her husband’s successor, and the unravelling of much of Barack’s work while in office. Moreover, the challenges of adapting to changes in her life as they moved into and out of the White House.

Obama also speaks of some more common challenges as parents trying to make decisions which impact their children. She shares some insight into the lives of her daughters in the White House and now as adults living on their own. I enjoyed these anecdotes and found relatable situations. The book is a wonderful resource to inspire and empower others to create positive change in their own lives.

I appreciated listening to the audiobook version of The Light We Carry which was narrated by the author. Her voice is articulate, enthusiastic and easy to listen to. I highly recommend the audiobook version to those that enjoy this format.

What I Liked:

• The positivity and strategies to meet the challenges of living in uncertain times
• The relatability of many parts of the book
• The author’s humbleness in sharing about her own life and marriage