The Light We Carry

Introduction
 
At some point when I was a child, my father started using a cane to keep himself balanced when he walked. I don t remember exactly when it showed up in our home on the South Side of Chicago I was maybe four or five years old at the time but suddenly it was there, slim and sturdy and made of a smooth dark wood. The cane was an early concession to multiple sclerosis, the disease that had given my father a severe left-legged limp. Slowly and silently and probably long before he received a formal diagnosis, MS was undermining his body, eating away at his central nervous system and weakening his legs as he went about his everyday business: working at the city s water filtration plant, running a household with my mom, trying to raise good kids.
 
The cane helped my dad get himself up the stairs to our apartment or down a city block. In the evenings, he would set it against the arm of his recliner and seemingly forget about it as he watched sports on TV, or listened to jazz on the stereo, or pulled me onto his lap to ask about my day at school. I was fascinated by the cane s curved handle, the black rubber tip at its end, the hollow clatter it made when it fell to the floor. Sometimes I d try to use it, imitating my father s motions as I hobbled around our living room, hoping to feel what it was like to walk in his shoes. But I was too small and the cane was too big, and so instead I would incorporate it as a stage prop in my games of pretending.
 
As we say it in my family, that cane symbolized nothing. It was just a tool, the same way my mother s spatula was a tool in the kitchen, or my grandfather s hammer got used any time he came over to fix a broken shelf or curtain rod. It was utilitarian, protected, something to lean on when needed.
 
What we didn t really want to acknowledge was the fact that my father s condition was gradually growing worse, his body quietly turning on itself. Dad knew it. Mom knew it. My older

Michelle Obama served as First Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, Mrs. Obama started her career as an attorney at the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin, where she met her future husband, Barack Obama. She later worked in the Chicago mayor’s office, at the University of Chicago, and at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Mrs. Obama also founded the Chicago chapter of Public Allies, an organization that prepares young people for careers in public service. She is the author of the #1 global bestseller Becoming and the #1 national bestseller American Grown. The Obamas currently live in Washington, D.C., and have two daughters, Malia and Sasha.

A deeply personal and hugely inspirational exploration of what keeps us upright in the face of uncertainty . . . In other words, perfect for now. O Quarterly

A joy to read. Los Angeles Times

Reaffirming . . . What makes the book special is that it builds on parts of Becoming, and [Michelle] Obama serves as mentor and guide. The Washington Post

Obama s road map for uncertain times resonates in ways that other self-help books do not. . . . Through her stories, experiences and thoughts, we re finding the light with her. The New York Times  

[Michelle Obama s] clear-eyed confidence is a model for anyone searching for reason, strength, and optimism in tough times. Lucy Feldman, Time s 100 Must-Read Books of 2022

Miraculously, these self-help bromides don t come across as cloying, mainly because Obama is so disarmingly honest about her fears, failures and all-too-human flaws. . . . You can t argue with the hard-fought wisdom of such an accomplished woman. The Guardian

Though Obama makes it clear she still struggles with plenty of self-doubt and doesn t have all the answers, she provides a pretty thorough road map to living a fuller, kinder, better life. USA Today

A heartening pep talk from the former first lady. Kirkus Reviews

In The Light We Carry, Obama shares ideas for quelling what roils our stomachs and ways to move forward. She s like a big sister whispering in my ear, You are enough. Philadelphia Inquirer

Encouraging, sometimes funny, always chummy . . . The Light We Carry contains a multitude of other poignant, amusing anecdotes and helpful advice for all types of readers. BookPage

Praise for Michelle Obama s Becoming

A serious work of candid reflection by a singular figure of early-twenty-first-century America . . . Becoming is refined and forthright, gracefully written and at times laugh-out-loud funny.