Last night more than 17,000 Michelle Obama book fans attended the last event on her national book tour for Becoming, the three million copy plus best-seller, at the sold-out Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
After some quotes on a center billboard (”Find your flame and keep it lit’) and various clips from Obama’s TV appearances (Carpool Karaoke, Sesame Street, Ellen DeGeneres, Letterman, Jimmy Fallon), the stage was graced by various fans of Michelle who explained how they are becoming – Ina Garten is becoming through love and food; Sofia from Girl Scout troop 2697 in Brooklyn is becoming a doctor; Rachel Ray is becoming her mother, who she brought with her tonight.
Then a svelte and glittering Sarah Jessica Parker stepped forward as she was the interviewer for the event. But Obama stunned the audience by taking the stage in a floor-length yellow satin gown with a slit up the center that revealed a pair of thigh high $4000 Balenciaga boots.
Parker and Obama talked about marriage and motherhood and the Obamas’ accomplishments. Obama got a little flustered as she reminisced about first meeting her future-husband and recognizing his “sexy swagger’ as he arrived for an interview with her late and wet from the rain. It was charming and a little embarrassing, and very real.
But Obama really found her stride when she talked about giving back to the world. She explained that as First Lady, one of her main goals was to host more programs for children at the White House. You could see her tear up as she talked about a girl from the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota, who hugged her husband and told him “You saved my life,” after her visit to the White House.
"I think about the kids whose lives are transformed because we gave them a little light," she said. "If they could walk into the White House and feel welcome…then they could do anything."
She concluded her evening encouraging all 17,000 audience members to be aware of the fact that they had all come together, even thought there were many differences between all of us. “This is our country,” she said, explaining that she and President Obama found the strength of the American people the thing that gave them hope when things got tough.
Lori Perkins, Marilyn Warren, Yvonne Smith at Barclays with signed copies of becoming
She gave us hope, as we all left. You could hear it buzzing in the audience.
But it also made me wonder just what Michelle Obama is becoming, and what she can become.
