I was looking for something different to read so I turned to my trusted source for reading materials – The New York Times Best Sellers.
Although I am not an American, I have read about Obama Barack in the newspapers and he is the first US president I really liked. It feels like he genuinely wanted to make America better and he is very real and warm. The photographs taken by Pete Souza, the Chief Official White House Photographer for Obama, helped to cement that impression. Obama Barack is very devoted to his wife, Michelle Robinson, which in turn made me interested in her as well.
This book really shows me that the way the parents treat their children really affects the children for the rest of their lives. Michelle’s parents lets her make all her own decisions, trusting that she will make the right choice. They listen to her talk about anything and everything, giving advise only when absolutely necessary. They may not be well-off but they try their best to give her everything she needs.
It is interesting, how Obama seemed to slip into her life so effortlessly. It’s interesting to know that a successful lawyer like Michelle Robinson, realized at some point that the work she is doing is not giving her fulfillment, just like nursing is not fulfilling to me anymore.
Reading about how Obama Barack ran for presidency and Michelle’s role in it gives me an understanding of politics I did not have before. It makes politics more personal and less foreign. It made me realize that politics can bring about a lot of positive changes, in the hands of the right people. It also made me realize that the phrase “you have to lose some to win some” is also true of politics. In his running for presidency, Michelle and Obama lost their personal live but they helped millions of Americans. There is always a trade-off.
The part of the book that resonated with me the most the the part where Michelle started thinking about going into the public service. I am a nurse and I am also seriously considering changing to a job where I can make a real difference in the life of many people.
I end off my review with a quote from the epilogue of the book:
“It’s all a process, steps along a path. Becoming requires equal parts patience and rigor. Becoming is never giving up on the idea that there’s more growing to be done.”