# Becoming (book)
*Becoming* is a 2018 memoir by [Michelle Obama](https://www.edgepedia.org/michelle-obama), the former [First Lady of the United States](https://www.edgepedia.org/first-lady-of-the-united-states), that traces her life from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago through her education, marriage, and eight years in the White House[1](https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/becoming/). It is one of the best-selling memoirs of all time[1](https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/becoming/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Publication | November 13, 2018, by Crown[2](https://www.sackett.net/ObamaBecomingGuide.pdf) • [3](https://pithybooks.com/books/becoming/) |
| Publisher deal | The Obamas signed a joint $65 million deal with Penguin Random House in March 2017[4](https://theweek.com/politics/barack-obama-net-worth-explained) |
| Sales | Over 700,000 copies on its first day[5](https://time.com/5457854/michelle-obama-becoming-review/); more than 10 million worldwide within five months[6](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/history-of-african-american-autobiography/crafting-a-credible-black-self-in-african-american-life-writing/7C67CCBC9E3CDA5EDE6582CFE632E4DF); more than 15 million by early 2021[7](https://time.com/5935414/michelle-obama-becoming-young-readers-edition/) |
| Structure | Three parts: Becoming Me, Becoming Us, Becoming More[8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/in-revealing-new-memoir-michelle-obama-candidly-shares-her-story/2018/11/08/6bc1d2ca-e20e-11e8-b759-3d88a5ce9e19_story.html) |
| Audiobook | 19 hours 3 minutes, read by the author[9](https://www.pageturn.cloud/reviews/becoming) • [10](https://www.axios.com/2019/12/12/michelle-obama-becoming-new-york-times-bestseller-list) |
| Honors | Oprah's Book Club selection and 2019 NAACP Image Award winner[7](https://time.com/5935414/michelle-obama-becoming-young-readers-edition/) |
## Content and structure
The memoir is divided into three parts: "Becoming Me," "Becoming Us," and "Becoming More." The first part covers her upbringing in a working-class family on the South Side of Chicago, including her parents Fraser Robinson III and Marian Shields Robinson and her older brother Craig Robinson[8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/in-revealing-new-memoir-michelle-obama-candidly-shares-her-story/2018/11/08/6bc1d2ca-e20e-11e8-b759-3d88a5ce9e19_story.html) • [11](https://www.supersummary.com/becoming/summary/). The second covers her romance with [Barack Obama](https://www.edgepedia.org/barack-obama), starting a family, and her search for work she loved[8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/in-revealing-new-memoir-michelle-obama-candidly-shares-her-story/2018/11/08/6bc1d2ca-e20e-11e8-b759-3d88a5ce9e19_story.html). The third covers the campaign years and her time as First Lady[9](https://www.pageturn.cloud/reviews/becoming).
**Formative episodes.** The book recounts her time as a student at Princeton, where she felt pressure to represent her race, and a high-school college counselor telling her she was not "Princeton material" despite her class rank and [National Honor Society](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-honor-society) membership[12](https://downloads.prh.com/incentives/prd/1713190442/Becoming-Reading-Guide.pdf). She describes the effects of white flight on her childhood neighborhood[5](https://time.com/5457854/michelle-obama-becoming-review/).
**Candid disclosures.** The book discusses her use of fertility treatment to conceive her daughters and a period of marital strain in which "frustrations began to rear up often and intensely"[13](https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/all/becoming/). It also expresses her deep disdain for Donald Trump, who she believed put her family's safety at risk through his promotion of the false birther conspiracy theory[13](https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/all/becoming/) • [8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/in-revealing-new-memoir-michelle-obama-candidly-shares-her-story/2018/11/08/6bc1d2ca-e20e-11e8-b759-3d88a5ce9e19_story.html).
## Reception and sales
The book debuted as a bestseller in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Korea, Australia, and South Africa[6](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/history-of-african-american-autobiography/crafting-a-credible-black-self-in-african-american-life-writing/7C67CCBC9E3CDA5EDE6582CFE632E4DF). It spent more than 100 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list[7](https://time.com/5935414/michelle-obama-becoming-young-readers-edition/) and marked a full year (52 weeks) on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction list in December 2019, reaching #4[10](https://www.axios.com/2019/12/12/michelle-obama-becoming-new-york-times-bestseller-list). The audiobook, read by Obama herself, spent 13 months on the New York Times audio list by that same date[10](https://www.axios.com/2019/12/12/michelle-obama-becoming-new-york-times-bestseller-list).
## Adaptations and later editions
A young readers edition, adapted for ages 10 and up, was announced in February 2021 and released on March 2 of that year alongside a paperback edition of the original[7](https://time.com/5935414/michelle-obama-becoming-young-readers-edition/). In May 2020, Netflix released a documentary of the same name, chronicling Obama's 34-stop book tour[14](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/becoming-michelle-obama-netflix-documentary-barack-watch-stream-release-a9501631.html).
## Legacy
Scholars place *Becoming* among the bestselling life-writing texts in recorded history[6](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/history-of-african-american-autobiography/crafting-a-credible-black-self-in-african-american-life-writing/7C67CCBC9E3CDA5EDE6582CFE632E4DF) and have noted that it shifted the terms through which the First Lady memoir genre is defined[15](https://ojs.bibl.u-szeged.hu/index.php/americanaejournal/article/view/45411?articlesBySameAuthorPage=2).
## References
1. [Becoming: Study Guide, SparkNotes](https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/becoming/)
2. [Becoming (reading guide), Sackett.net](https://www.sackett.net/ObamaBecomingGuide.pdf)
3. [Becoming by Michelle Obama: detailed summary, Pithy Books](https://pithybooks.com/books/becoming/)
4. [What is Barack Obama's net worth?, The Week](https://theweek.com/politics/barack-obama-net-worth-explained)
5. [Michelle Obama's 'Becoming' Is a Book America Needs, Time](https://time.com/5457854/michelle-obama-becoming-review/)
6. [Crafting a Credible Black Self in African American Life Writing, Cambridge University Press](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/history-of-african-american-autobiography/crafting-a-credible-black-self-in-african-american-life-writing/7C67CCBC9E3CDA5EDE6582CFE632E4DF)
7. [Michelle Obama Is Releasing a New Edition of Becoming for Young Readers, Time](https://time.com/5935414/michelle-obama-becoming-young-readers-edition/)
8. [In revealing new memoir, Michelle Obama candidly shares her story, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/in-revealing-new-memoir-michelle-obama-candidly-shares-her-story/2018/11/08/6bc1d2ca-e20e-11e8-b759-3d88a5ce9e19_story.html)
9. [Becoming by Michelle Obama — Audiobook Review, PageTurn](https://www.pageturn.cloud/reviews/becoming)
10. [Michelle Obama's bestselling year, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2019/12/12/michelle-obama-becoming-new-york-times-bestseller-list)
11. [Becoming Summary and Study Guide, SuperSummary](https://www.supersummary.com/becoming/summary/)
12. [Becoming reading guide, Penguin Random House](https://downloads.prh.com/incentives/prd/1713190442/Becoming-Reading-Guide.pdf)
13. [All Book Marks reviews for Becoming by Michelle Obama, Book Marks](https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/all/becoming/)
14. [Becoming, review: Michelle Obama's Netflix documentary, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/becoming-michelle-obama-netflix-documentary-barack-watch-stream-release-a9501631.html)
15. [To harness discontent: Michelle Obama's becoming as African American autobiography, Americana E-journal of American Studies in Hungary](https://ojs.bibl.u-szeged.hu/index.php/americanaejournal/article/view/45411?articlesBySameAuthorPage=2)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Literature and written works › Creative written works and worlds › Memoirs, biographies, and literary nonfiction › Memoirs and autobiographies*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license