Michelle Obama recently opened about her time before, during, and after the White House in a candid interview with ABC News’ Robin Roberts — and we learned a whole lot.
The former First Lady took Roberts back to her roots in Chicago for the intimate sit down just ahead of the release of her highly-anticipated memoir, “Becoming” which drops this Tuesday. In the interview, she opened about the woman we have all come to love as our forever First Lady as we’ve never seen before
When her husband and former President Barack Obama appeared on the cover of Time Magazine with the headline, “Why Barack Obama could be the next president,” in 2006, Michelle admitted that she struggled with what it meant.
“I was doing what a lot of Black folks do. We were afraid to hope,” she said. “It’s hard to believe that the country that oppressed you could one day be led by you.”
The interview covered everything from her first date with the former POTUS, to her thoughts on the Trumps, to her experiences with things like codeswitching, smoking weed, and even visiting her former high school where her guidance counselor at the time told her she wasn’t “Princeton material.”
Obama also spoke candidly about going through a miscarriage 20 years ago, and how she ended up conceiving her daughters, Malia and Sasha, through IVF.
“I felt lost and alone and I felt like I failed because I didn’t know how common miscarriages were because we don’t talk about them,” Obama said. “We sit in our own pain, thinking that somehow we’re broken.”
“So, that’s one of the reasons why I think it’s important to talk to young mothers about the fact that miscarriages happen, and the biological clock is real,” she added. “I think it’s the worst thing that we do to each other as women, not share the truth about our bodies and how they work, and how they don’t work.”
Obama kicks off her highly anticipated 10-city book tour on Tuesday, November 13, which is also the same day the book comes out in 24 languages.
“Writing Becoming has been a deeply personal experience. It has allowed me, for the very first time, the space to honestly reflect on the unexpected trajectory of my life,” she has said of the memoir. “In this book, I talk about my roots and how a little girl from the South Side of Chicago found her voice and developed the strength to use it to empower others. I hope my journey inspires readers to find the courage to become whoever they aspire to be. I can’t wait to share my story.”
