I remember seeing a post on Instagram from my favorite Indie bookstore in Charleston, Itinerant Literate, about Barack Obama’s surprising book release back in September of 2020. It took me all of 5 minutes to preorder my own copy and I patiently waited as it’s November pub date approached.

When I finally got my hands on the book itself, I was amazed at how beautiful it was, not just the cover adorned with a smiling picture of our 44th president in black and white, but how the pages felt, thick and sturdy. It’s picture pages glossy and exciting to look through.

As excited as I was to get my hands on this book, I ended up letting it sit on my shelf for a few months, facing outwards, only one shelf down from Becoming. I had to keep them close together. And it wasn’t until 2021 that I picked this book up and started reading.

But instead of reading my print copy, I decided to listen to this on audio after hearing that Obama himself read the book. There is something about listening to an author read their own memoir, telling their own stories in their own words, with their own voice. This is how I read Becoming and it wrecked me, in the best way.

I rented this book from my local library, without having to wait, by the way, and began listening. This book is long, the audiobook is roughly 29 hours, so as I worked on tasks I listened to Obama’s familiar and friendly voice tell stories in my ears. Within in the first 3 hours, I was hooked. I loved hearing Obama tell his life story from being born to his mother and Kenyan father, to growing up in Hawaii, to spending time with his childhood friendships, to his relationships with his mother and grandmother. I loved listening to him candidly speak about how he felt about school and playing basketball and what it was like being him, before he became The President. Later, I loved hearing him talk about Michelle and their blossoming love, their growing family and how he watched his wife attempting to manage their family in the midst of his political career.

Most of all, I loved listening to a president be presidential. Obama has always been an eloquent speaker and his writing abilities are equally yoked. His words are written with such grace, such empathy, such compassion. As myself and so many others had writhed in the pit of despair that had consumed us over the last 4 years, this book felt like a life preserver being thrown to me and beckoning me to remember what this country can be. Yes, it was a memoir, yes it was from one person’s perspective, but damn if it wasn’t what I needed after the last 4 years of oblivion and hopelessness.

This book is heavy, both in physicality and in content. It is filled with policy and forces you to relive some big, scary moments: hi, 2008 housing crisis, Deepwater Horizon, Birtherism, the death of Bin Laden, and more. I enjoyed reading about how Obama, the most powerful person in the world during these moments, dealt with and internalized these unforgettable crises.

I will always be in awe of our 44th president and I’m so thankful for A Promised Land, the first volume in his presidential memoir. I am anxiously awaiting more.

A Promised Land was a 5 star read for me.