THE LIGHT WE CARRY by Michelle Obama

The Light We Carry is the latest offering from former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama.

The Light We Carry is the latest offering from former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama and it is a book which seeks to offer inspiration, hope and maybe guidance on how we can be our best selves in a world that is increasingly scary and overwhelming.

I am an unabashed fan of Michelle Obama and dearly loved her memoir, Becoming. So I had looked forward to this book.

The Light We Carry is not a memoir as such, however it does draw on Obama’s experiences in life, both before, during and since the White House years. She talks about her parents, particularly her mother, as well as the importance to her of female friendships.

With that said, this book did not hit the mark for me in the way that Becoming did and I would not say I took as much from it as I have from other books in this genre. However, there were several times when I took photographs of particular paragraphs that really struck me, mainly so I could easily read them again and recall the themes of them.

The first of these themes was that of being “comfortably afraid”, in particular the way one can use the feeling of nerves or anxiety to guide rather than stop oneself from doing something. I found this useful in a practical sense, as I am someone who can be at one end of the nerve spectrum or the other; that is, so at ease and unafraid that I appear arrogant (which I am not at all!) or so consumed by nerves or fear that I quite literally stay home and hide.

The second theme I really absorbed was that of knowing who I am and being proud and confident in who I am, regardless of what others think, in order to provide the safe space for others to do the same.

Notwithstanding the above, I’m not 100% sure of the value of this book. It is well written and it isn’t bad - I just don’t know if it adds much to the conversation. Doubtless, Michelle will make a tonne of money from it because people like myself, who really like her, will buy whatever she writes. Mission accomplished! However, while I think this book has some great themes, it feels a little like manufactured inspiration, which isn’t something I especially love.

I am not saying don’t bother, but I wouldn’t rush out to buy this one - maybe borrow it from the library or a friend instead.