BET Networks announced “A THOUSAND WORDS WITH MICHELLE OBAMA”, an empowering new special featuring former First Lady Michelle Obama in candid conversation with former Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama Valerie Jarrett at BET’s annual Leading Women Defined symposium at the St. Regis hotel in Miami, FL. Sisterhood sets the scene as the women discuss a range of topics with Michelle reflecting on family, friendship and identity; the common thread of the evening being staying true to one’s self above all. The intimate conversation also touches on Michelle’s upbringing, raising a family in the White House and her coming of age as told in her highly anticipated autobiography, Becoming. “A THOUSAND WORDS WITH MICHELLE OBAMA”, premieres Wednesday, December 5 at 9 PM ET/PT on BET.
People cannot get enough of Michelle Obama and neither can we. Peep part of her convo about her new book, Becoming Michelle Obama, which appears on her book website, BecomingMichelleObama.com, which is the jewel of Crown Publishers.
CROWN’S CONVO WITH MICHELLE OBAMA
Q: What was unexpected about the writing process?
A: The process turned out to be really meaningful for me. I spent a lot of time just reflecting and thinking,
which is something I just didn’t have much time to do for about a decade. Once Barack began his campaign
for president, every day felt like a sprint. So it was nice to decompress a little bit and ask myself, “How did
I get here? Where did my story take a turn?” I uncovered a lot of smaller moments—moments that folks
might not know about, but that I realized were really foundational to the woman I became.
Q: What did you hope to accomplish in writing your memoir?
A: My main hope was to create something that could be useful to other people, to give them something
they could use in their own lives. So I focused on telling my story as honestly as I could. I’m not settling
scores or giving a political play-by-play. I hoped to bring people inside the experience of growing up a
working-class black girl on the South Side of Chicago who became First Lady of the United States. It’s all
of me, all right there on those pages, which means I feel a little vulnerable knowing what I’m putting out
there. But I hope if I can share my story, with all its ups and downs, then other people might have the
courage to share theirs, too.
I may have had some successes in my life, but I can still feel the twinge of embarrassment from when I
misspelled a word in front of my class when I was in kindergarten. I still remember the doubts I had about
myself as a working-class minority student on an affluent, mostly white college campus. I think we all
carry moments like that—and let me tell you, they don’t disappear when you suddenly find yourself
speaking to crowded arenas and meeting the Queen of England.
CREDIT: CROWN PUBLISHERS
