If you've been anxiously awaiting more info on Michelle Obama's highly anticipated memoir [1], then get excited, because the former first lady has announced details about her upcoming book tour. Becoming [2] hits shelves on Nov. 13, and Obama will kick off a 10-city book tour in her hometown of Chicago that day. The tour stops will feature conversations between Obama and moderators who will soon be announced.
She posted a video on social media to celebrate her "big day," saying, "I've had time to think and reflect for the first time in a long time, and I've spent some time really thinking about the people and the stories and the experiences that have shaped me and helped me become the person I am today." She added, "I am proud of what I created. I'm proud because it is candid, it's honest. It is totally and utterly me, and so I'm also a little frightened because it is so candid and honest and open, but I can't wait to share it with the world."
Keep reading to watch Obama's full announcement and get details on all 10 tour dates.
The Book Cover Reveal
Michelle Obama [3] shared a first look at her book's cover in May, writing, "The process of writing this book has been so personally meaningful and illuminating for me. As I prepare to share Becoming this Fall, I hope you'll also think about your own story, and trust that it will help you become whoever you aspire to be. Your story is what you have, what you will always have. It is something to own."
The Book Tour Announcement
The former first lady announced details about her book tour in September, and she shared some of what she learned through the book-writing process on social media. Alongside a video, she wrote:
I'm from the South Side of Chicago. I went to Princeton and Harvard. I'm a wife, a mother, a daughter, and a sister. I've been a lawyer, a nonprofit leader, a hospital executive, and First Lady of the United States.
I like to call these my "stats" — the shorthand we all seem to default to whenever we tell our stories. Where are you from? What do you do? What school did you go to?
As I've written my memoir, Becoming, I've spent a lot of time thinking about my story, mining it for the kinds of details I'd usually just brush off or even forget about — the narrow taillights of my father's car, a talk with my mother on a drive home, the heat of my daughter's forehead when she ran a fever. And in doing so, I've realised that those surface-level "stats" don't really tell my story at all.
This Fall, I'd like to share that fuller story with all of you on my book tour. It's the story of my humdrum plainness, my tiny victories, my lasting bruises, my ordinary hopes and worries. It's the story of who I am, truly, and I'm proud of it — blemishes and all.
Book Tour Tickets
Tickets will go on sale to the general public starting Sept. 21 at BecomingMichelleObama.com [4], and a limited number of VIP and meet-and-greet packages will be available at Ticketmaster.com.
