What We're Reading: The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama (& A Request for Audience Participation)

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So far we've highlighted Black History Month on the blog with , , and . We've got one left in queue for next week--Activists and Advocates--, but we'd like to finish the month by sharing a list of your favorite books by Black authors. 

. They can be fiction or nonfiction, classic or contemporary, any reading level (kids, middle grades, YA, or adult), any topic or genre, and they do not have to be from/currently in the 麻豆精品在线播放 Library collections. 

We've got a form to keep it all organized and orderly: 

Some favorite books by Black American authors (Legendborn by Tracey Deonn and The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee) pictured with a 麻豆精品在线播放 Library water bottle and fanny pack, both in an excellent lime green, to illustrate the possible prizes people who fill out our form can win

Participants will be entered to win either a 麻豆精品在线播放 Library water bottle or fanny pack if they so desire!

Respond to Meredith Lewis (lewisma @ durhamtech.edu) with any specific questions.

Now onto the main event!


the light we carry: overcoming in uncertain times by michelle obama
Available at the Main Campus (E 909.024 O24 2022) and as an audiobook through Dogwood Digital Library

This book, more self-help than memoir, draws on Michelle Obama鈥檚 personal struggles and shares her strategies for staying optimistic.  Yes, despite fame, financial success, and inestimable clout, Michelle has relatable doubts and fears (is the pandemic ever going to end?, will my family be okay?, how can I keep my balance in an uncertain world?). Creating connection and 鈥済oing high鈥 are tools we can all use. 

Title: The Light We Carry

Author: Michelle Obama                       

Genre: Self-Help with a memoir twist 

Categories: A book to improve your mental or physical health; A book about an experience different than your own; A book recommended by a 麻豆精品在线播放 Library staff member or on the blog 

This book was read by Susan Baker, Main Campus Reference Librarian.

Why did you choose to read this?  

One of our library鈥檚 newest books, it was right here in the library, waiting for me to take a dive into the mind and heart of the extraordinary Michelle Obama. 

I鈥檝e long admired her and I decided not to wait another minute to dig into her newest work. 

What did you like about it?

In The Light We Carry, Michelle Obama shares her strategies for coping with stress and anxiety, offering personal examples for creating the connections that enrich our lives and strengthens our spirits. 

She believes that "each of us carries a bit of inner brightness鈥 that we can use to create a better world.   Small things count--for example, learning to knit was something simple and accomplishable, something she could fix in a world of seemingly unfixable things. She discusses pushing past her fears, the deep breath of letting go when her daughters left for college, as well as the power of "not looking into others' mirrors", as she turned the idea that she was not "Princeton material" into the fuel to pursue her Ivy League dreams.

My favorite of all is her "Kitchen Table", her ride-or-die inner circle of friendship and trust that she has worked over the years to create and maintain. All these strategies are derived from her personal experiences, accessible enough to make you think, "maybe I can do this, too."

What would you pair this with? 

I鈥檇 pair this with a girls鈥 night in鈥攁 pajama party with lots of friends, lots of snacks, and lots of laughing.

The best life is all about the joy and hope in creating connection. 

Want more Michelle? 

Check out the , as well her memoir Becoming. Visit her White House garden in American Grown, or see her through the lens of others in The Meaning of Michelle

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