The Light We Carry Book Review

It is easy to get caught up in the daily grind and many headlines coming from the evening news. Before we know it, the stress and negativity start to creep in and our outlook starts to change for the worse.

Michelle Obama‘s new book, The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times, was published this month. While reflecting on her own life and challenges, the former First Lady asks big questions that do not have an easy answers. In doing so, she talks about the people and skills that have helped her to get through the various obstacles that have stood in her way. Building on a life of experience, she encourages the reader to tackle the stumbling blocks in their own lives and find their happiness.

This is classic Michelle Obama: funny, down-to-earth, honest, and humble.

Though she does not speak directly about mental health, there are aspects of the book that can help with this illness in its various forms. Instead of bullshitting or providing pie-in-the-sky answers, her approach is simple and relatable. As someone who has been living with mental illness for years, I appreciated her outlook. It is refreshing in a world that could easily bring us down.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

The Light We Carry is available wherever books are sold.

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Democrats Need to go to the Mattresses

At the end of the day, politics is about compromise and finding some sort of common ground. In the halls of power in America today, compromise has become a dirty word and common ground is a thing of the past.

The problem is twofold. The first is that most Republicans have become so radicalized that there is no talking sense to them. The second is that the Democrats are bringing a plastic food knife to a gunfight. The only way to get this country back on track is to go to the mattresses.

During the 2016 Presidential Election, former First Lady Michelle Obama said the following:

“When they go low, we go high”

The problem with this statement is that it assumes that the other side can be reasoned with. There is no reasoning with these people. Not that I am advocating that were completely lower ourselves, but playing nice doesn’t work anymore. We have to get our hands dirty and it means bloody knuckles, so be it.

Almost 250 years ago, our collective ancestors fought and died for this nation. If we give in to these radicals, what they fought for means nothing. Should that come to pass, we will have no one to blame but ourselves.

Thoughts On President Biden’s First Year in Office

The first year of any Presidential administration is always rocky, regardless of how much political experience the President and their team have. It is a transition that requires patience, understanding, and the knowledge that the road ahead is anything but smooth.

Last week, President Biden held a press conference marking his first full year in office. To say that it was a challenge is an understatement. Given the mess his predecessor left behind, I think we need to be a little more understanding.

Looking back, I think many of us expected Biden to twitch his nose and instantly undo the damage done by you know who. It is a task that by definition is impossible.

The one thing that I think he has going for him is his ability to change course, genuinely listen, and apologize when necessary. I can’t say the same for he who shall not be named.

The one obstacle I see ahead of Biden and the Democrats overall is the 2022 midterms. Recent history tells us that the party in power loses its advantage in Congress every two years. The major problem this time around is that the Republicans have no problem crossing the moral lines to win elections. Michelle Obama‘s recommendation two years ago to go high when they go low will not work this time around.

We can’t completely stoop to their level, but getting a little dirty maybe the one thing that saves the nation and our Democratic model of government. If Biden wants to see his poll numbers climb and ensure that his party retains control, there are two things he must do.

1. Get the Voting Rights legislation passed: I firmly believe that he won because he spoke to Americans who have been disenfranchised and promised to make it happen. We all know that not all promises made on the campaign trail come to fruition. But this one is the key to the future success of this administration.
2. Kitchen table issues: Not only does he have to address the most basic of kitchen table issues, he has shout his accomplishments from the rooftops. The only way to win over Americans who believe he is doing a poor job is to reach them where they are. If they are gainfully employed with a good salary, prices are reasonable, etc, then they may finally see through the bullshit of the Republicans. Otherwise, we are facing political tumult like we have never seen before.

I wish I had a crystal ball. But I don’t. I can only hope that at some point in the near future, we can put this madness aside and return to some version of normal.

This is How Presidential Transitions are Supposed to be

One of the cornerstones of our democracy is the peaceful transition from one administration to another. It signals that there is a respect for the country and for the end result of a Presidential election.

As we all are too keenly aware of, you know who has far too many people believing that his loss was due to voter fraud. In denying the Biden/Harris transition team access to the necessary materials needed to do their job, the message from the current administration is loud and clear. They are concerned with soothing their boss’s fragile ego than following the will of the people.

Over the last few days, former First Daughter and granddaughter Jenna Bush Hager has been reflecting on how her late grandfather, George H.W. Bush and father, George W. Bush graciously welcomed the next President into the White House.

The letter from her grandfather to then President elect Bill Clinton states the following:

“Dear Bill, when I walked into this office just now I felt the same sense of wonder and respect that I felt four years ago. I know you will feel that, too. I wish you great happiness here,”

She also fondly recalls how she, her sister, and her mother were tour guides for Michelle Obama and her girls when President Obama won the election twelve years ago.

This is how Presidential transitions are supposed to be. But it cannot happen if you know who refuses to concede the election.

Books That Speak to the African-American Experience

It has been said that we can never know how another person sees the world until we walk a mile in their shoes. But books have a way to providing that perspective.

As our country and our culture once more grapples with racial tension and the troubled history of our mutual past, books may be one of the keys to bringing us together.

The Yellow House by Sarah Broom

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Becoming by Michelle Obama

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

Proud: My Fight For an Unlikely American Dream by Ibtihaj Muhammad

Joshua: A Brooklyn Tale by Andrew Kane

It may be simplistic to say that reading the books listed above or any book will help to solve our issues. However, I believe that by at least beginning to understand another’s perspective, the doors to communication, understanding, and diversity may truly start to open.

Becoming Review

In the past, the role of the First Lady of the United States or FLOTUS, was like many wives. She was responsible for the “domestic” side of the President’s life without room to prove that she could take one more. It is only in the last few decades that the role of FLOTUS has changed.

Becoming premiered on Netflix tonight. It is based on the best selling autobiography of the same name by former First Lady Michelle Obama. The nearly 90-minute documentary followed Mrs. Obama as she went on her book tour in 2018 and 2019.

I loved the documentary. Mrs. Obama comes off on screen like she did in the book. She is humble, appreciative, strong, capable, human and a woman to admire.

I absolutely recommend it.

Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward Book Review

As pie in the sky as it sounds, one of the greatest aspects of America is that who one is at birth does not define what they may or may not accomplish during their lifetimes.

Valerie Jarrett, who worked under President Obama as a senior adviser is living proof of that concept.

In her new auto-biography, Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward, Ms. Jarrett tells the story of her life.

Born in 1956 to African-American parents, she spent her early years in Iran because her father was unable to find a job as a doctor in the United States. After the family re-settled in Chicago, Ms. Jarrett came of age during the turbulent 1960’s and 1970’s. In the early 1990’s, she interviewed a young lawyer named Michelle Robinson who was then engaged to the future 44th President of the United States. That interview was the start of a personal and professional relationship that has led her straight to the White House and to become of the most prominent African-Americans in the country.

As auto-biographies go, this book is pretty good. Ms. Jarrett tells her story in a way that it readable, enjoyable and uplifting without being too bogged down with the facts.

I recommend it.

Best Books Of 2018

I’ve read quite a few books in 2018. Below is the list of the best books of 2018, at least from my perspective.

1. Becoming by Michelle Obama: Mrs Obama’s autobiography is insightful, down to earth and one of the best autobiographies that I have read in a long time.
2. House of Gold by Natasha Solomons: House of Gold was described by another reviewer as a Jewish version of Downton Abbey. I couldn’t think of another description if I made it up myself.
3. Pride by Ibi Zoboi: A modern-day Pride and Prejudice set in New York City, this Jane Austen adaptation feels old and new at the same time.
4. We Are Going to Be Lucky A World War II Love Story in Letters by Elizabeth L. Fox: The story of a marriage during World War II told in a series of letter that will make you believe in love.
5. My Girls: A Lifetime with Carrie and Debbie by Todd Fisher: When Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds departed this world two years ago, no one knew them better than their brother and son. The book is a love letter to them by one of the people who knew and loved them best.
6. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah: A young girl growing up in the wilds of Alaska learns some hard truths about life, love and marriage.
7. American Tantrum: The Donald J. Trump Presidential Archives by Anthony Atamanuik and Neil Casey: Based on the character created by Anthony Atamanuik on The President Show, it is a what if story in regards to the fictional Presidential library of you know who.
8. Not Out Kind: A Novel by Kitty Zeldis: Just after the end of World War II, two women from vastly different worlds meet in New York City and forever change each other’s lives in the process.
9. Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters by Anne Boyd Rioux: 150 years after the publication of Little Women, the book still resonates with readers across the globe and across the cultural landscape.
10. The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict: Behind every genius is a supportive and loving spouse. But what happens when the spouse is denied her own genius because she is a woman?

That’s my list, what are your favorite books of 2018?

Becoming Book Review

When we admire someone, we forget that they are fellow human beings who go through the same ups and downs that we  all do.

When Michelle Obama became America’s FLOTUS (First Lady Of The United States) in 2009, she was more than the first African-American First Lady. She was intelligent, educated, warm, loving and a devoted wife and mother.

Her autobiography, Becoming, was published recently.

Born in Chicago in 1964, Mrs. Obama came from a normal working class family. She met her future husband (and future POTUS or President Of The United States) Barack Obama when he was hired to be summer associate at the law firm where she worked at the time; she was assigned to him as his mentor. They married in 1992 and have two daughters. As the future POTUS and FLOTUS, Barack and Michelle did their best to balance their marriage, parenting their children and work. Then politics came calling and their status as an average middle class family in America forever changed.

I absolutely loved this book. I felt like I was having a one on one conversation with her. The book is personal, deep and makes the reader feel like they have a connection to her. Unlike other autobiographies where the writer is full of it and bragging, Mrs. Obama is humble and open.

I absolutely recommend it.

 

Southside With You Movie Review

A first date can be awkward, to say the least. The romantic equivalent of a job interview, it can be a little nerve-wracking and maybe depending the daters, life changing.

The recent release, Southside With You, is the fictionalized account of the first date of Barack and Michelle Obama (nee Robinson). Set in the summer of 1989, Barack Obama (Parker Sawyers) is a summer associate at a law firm in Chicago. His adviser at the firm is Michelle Robinson (Tika Sumpter), a second year associate. She agrees to go out with him, but it is not a date. They are supposed to go to a community event. What is planned to be only a few hours becomes a day that will be eventful for both Barack and Michelle.

Movies about budding romances and first dates are common. What makes this film uncommon is that not only is based on a true story where the main players are still around, but it integrates politics into a narrative that has the standard plot points without the usual mush that is often contained in romantic comedies or dramas.

I recommend it.

Southside With You is presently in theaters.