Blanche’s Book Club: ‘The Light We Carry.’

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It’s been SO long since I’ve shared a book review here. I’ve still been reading — in fact, I’m on track to reach my 2023 reading goal 🙂

But, while I used to share every single book I read here, I didn’t feel right sharing books I didn’t love. A less-than-stellar review does nothing for authors, and it doesn’t do much for people looking for books to read!

So, I’ve read a lot of “okay” and “fine” books lately, but nothing worth nothing.

Until now, of course! I recently finished reading “The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times” by Michelle Obama.

Years ago, I read Michelle Obama’s “Becoming” (my full review is here) and I loved it. But, I wasn’t planning on reading this second book.

I know this might be a hot take, but I’m not obsessed with the Obamas — do not come for me, I voted for him both times and I think he did a fine job.

I personally just don’t love politicians being so rich and famous?? I don’t know; I don’t feel comfortable getting into it.

Just know that the only reason I picked this book up is because the Smith Sisters covered Michelle Obama’s book tour, specifically, her interview with Oprah.

Hearing the discussion about the book made me think it was worth reading, so I put it on hold att the library. Unsurprisingly, I had to wait a good bit for it, but it was worth the wait!

Michelle wrote the book during the pandemic, so it covers a lot of challenging issues people face and how she recommends overcoming them.

Here are some of the quotes I highlighted:

• There’s nothing easy about finding your way through a world loaded with obstacles that others can’t or don’t see.
• A day can feel hard and not-hard; a challenge can see giant, and then maybe conquerable, and then two hours later, it’s overwhelming all over again. It depends not just on your circumstances but also on your mood, your attitude, your stance—all of which can change in an instant. We get pumped up and knocked down by the smallest of factors—whether the sun is shining, how our hair looks, how we slept, how we ate or didn’t eat, whether someone bothers to look kindly in our direction or not. We may or may not acknowledge out loud all the other forces that knock so many of us down, the social conditions shaped by generations of systemic oppression. But of course they are there.
• When you’re beginning something new, you can’t always see where you’re headed with it. You have to be okay with not knowing exactly how things will turn out.
• The fearful mind loves to show up at moments of peak stress, and with a clear agenda: It wants to veto everything. It is not at all down with your twirl.
• In life, it’s hard to dream about what’s not visible. When you look around and can’t find any version of yourself out there in the wider world, when you scan the horizon and see nobody like you, you start to feel a broader loneliness, a sense of being mismatched to your own hopes, your own plans, your own strengths. You begin to wonder where—and how—you will ever belong.
• How you view yourself becomes everything. It’s your foundation, the starting point for changing the world around you.
• When you know your own light, you are then better prepared to share it with another person. But you have to practice your way through all of it.
• We only hurt ourselves when we hide our realness away.
• At some point, however, life will inevitably complicate any dream, whether it’s breaking into a certain professional field, performing on a big stage, or making a meaningful social change. The limits come pretty quickly into view. Obstacles crop up. Naysayers emerge. Unfairness clutters the road. Practical concerns will often assert themselves. Money gets tight. Time grows short. The trade-offs become numerous, and they are often plainly necessary to make. Ask anyone who’s gotten themselves even partway to where they want to be. Getting to where you want to go, at some point, will almost by necessity start to feel like a fight.
• We need to keep trying to go high. We must commit and recommit ourselves to the idea. Operating with integrity matters. It will matter forever.
• The notion of going high shouldn’t raise any questions about whether we are obligated to fight for more fairness, decency, and justice in this world; rather, it’s about how we fight, how we go about trying to solve the problems we encounter, and how we sustain ourselves long enough to be effective rather than burnout.

…Can you tell I loved it?!

I always highlight a lot when I don’t want to forget something.

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