Former First Lady Michelle Obama is now a two-time author. The activist and philanthropist announced on Thursday that her second book, The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times, will release on November 15, 2022.
“I can’t believe it’s been a few years since I published my memoir, Becoming. And in that time, a lot has happened,” Obama said in a video she premiered on Good Morning America. “We’ve seen a global pandemic. We’ve seen an insurrection. A rising tide of hate, bigotry, intolerance, and a whole lot more. It’s often left me feeling just a little out of balance. I felt vulnerable, and yes, I felt afraid.”
In this new book, Obama poses the question “how do we overcome?” She draws on her experiences as a wife, mother, daughter, and First Lady to offer her readers a series of stories and insightful reflections on the power of lighting up for others and for self.
“Like so many of you, I’ve spent a lot of time these past few years thinking about how to keep myself centered in a world filled with so much uncertainty,” she wrote via social media. “This book is a collection of stories and practices that have helped me sort through all the challenges and questions that keep us up at night: How do I know I’m good enough? How do I bring my whole self to the table? How can I overcome my fears?”
In her book, Obama details how she found power for change in practices of positivity. Through her core values, like “staring kind,” and “going high,” and surrounding herself with trusted friends and mentors, she has found the key to maintaining hope and remaining balanced through life’s many challenges.
“We become bolder in brightness. If you know your light, you know yourself,” she writes in her book’s introduction. “You know your own story in an honest way. In my experience, this type of self-knowledge builds confidence, which in turn breeds calmness and an ability to maintain perspective, which leads, finally, to being able to connect meaningfully
with others—and this to me is the bedrock of all things.”
To commemorate the publication of The Light We Carry and encourage young people to discover the power of their voices and original stories, Penguin Random House is also naming an annual $10,000 “Michelle Obama Award for Memoir” in the former First Lady’s honor, to be awarded within its long-standing Creative Writing Awards (CWA) program for public high school students in their writing endeavors.
“I never thought I would be the author of one book, let alone two. But I’ve found that writing this has been a way for me to gather my thoughts and find more clarity during this time,” Obama wrote on Instagram. “So, I hope this book means as much to you as it does to me.”
The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times releases November 15, 2022.