The Expression Hub

Author: Michelle Obama

Genre: Biography

“Heroes are ordinary people who make themselves extraordinary.”

Gerard Way

New week ,new blog and a new pick. Sometimes the deadlines which you impose on yourselves can be super tiring as well as frustrating. But if you are accountable to someone, then the work has to be done at any cost. That is the mantra I live by even though I feel like not writing a lot of times. The reasons are also many: you are catering to a very small section of people, you sometimes just procrastinate or sometimes you feel you are just typing out for yourself. But then you do have to push this all aside and remind yourself that discipline and consistency never fails. It may take time to reach a milestone but you need to keep moving even though the journey is tough. Its always easy to give up on the things that have the potential to grow into something big. And that is something I do not want to end up regretting. So, I convince myself that its just a matter of time before maybe things will start working for you in the real sense. Good things always take time. Therefore, its essential to keep moving ahead slowly and with great conviction along with a hope in heart. Also, the small group of people showed their trust and belief in me maybe that is the reason the heart doesn’t agree to give up on . With such pep talks to myself, I do trudge ahead slowly and slowly with each blog post. After all, to put it in the words of Desmond Tutu, “hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”

About the book: The pick of this week is a story which is biographical in nature of a woman who will be remembered as the first black lady of the United States and who aimed to be a role model to many. This book I had started reading in mid March and aimed to cover as a part of the International Women’s Month special. But thanks to my hectic schedule:p I couldn’t finish reading it on time and have it featured. Being the determined person, I continued to read it and finished reading just in time for a new blog post. Better late than never I guess is what I will say about this piece of work. The book which is the pick of the week is a biography of Michelle Obama which is titled as Becoming.

The book is divided into three parts:Becoming me , Becoming us and Becoming More. The first part Becoming me reminisces the journey of Michelle Obama from her childhood to her becoming a lawyer at a prestigious law firm. The second part Becoming Us narrates the story of a lawyer falling in love with a colleague at the law firm she worked in. The colleague who was a complete opposite to her personality but still meshed in her life and became a life long companion to her. The second part introduces us to Barack Obama and how he became an important part of her life. The last part Becoming More narrates the political journey Barack Obama undertook to become the first African American President of United States and how life unfolded for them after being elected as the President and the First Lady respectively. How did the two manage their professional and personal lives while juggling parenthood and overcoming various challenges? What all did they have to endure while racing for the topmost post of the United States?The answers to all these questions lie in the book.

Analysis: The book is a good read but is very slow in pace to be honest. It is heartening to know that how an ordinary woman with her hard work made it big as a successful lawyer first then as the First Lady of The United States . The journey from a lawyer to the First lady is an interesting one .But the pace ruins it all. A book even if written with the best of intentions if has a slow pace loses its charm. I could have given up the book midway considering the pace with which it has been written and never maybe would have cast a look at it again despite being a bestseller. If a book is sluggish in its pace, it is bound to bore the reader despite having an interesting story line. This I personally experienced as a reader while reading this book. The book becomes so sluggish at certain points that it just feels like a drag. A lot of people might disagree with me considering that it is a best seller. However, this is what I personally felt while reading the book. Opinions can vary from person to person and they need to be respected even if its a disagreement.

Verdict: If I have to pick this one again to read, I will pick it up after a long period of time. The story is an interesting one and serves as an inspiration to all those who dream big. But the pace with which the events are narrated is what is I fear the most if I pick it up again to read. If you do want to give it a read, do go ahead. But I think I am done with this one for now despite an interesting story line.

Rating: ** and a 1/2

Cite Bite: “Do we settle for the world as it is or do we work for the world as it should be?”

Que: What was the name of the law firm young Michelle worked in?

a. Rudolph Friedmann

b.Mesa Law Firm

c. Sidley Austin

d. Caglar Law Firm