Michelle Obama to release young readers version of ‘Becoming’

The memoir has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide since its November 2018

Michelle Obama’s bestselling memoir, “Becoming,” will soon be released in both a young readers and a paperback edition.

“Becoming” has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide since its November 2018 release, and Netflix further explored it in a 2020 documentary. The streamer previously noted that the doc is a portrait of Obama “during a moment of profound change, not only for her personally but for the country she and her husband served over eight impactful years in the White House.”

Read More: Michelle Obama praises kids’ recreation of inauguration outfits: ‘You nailed it’

According to a statement from publisher Penguin/Random House, the updated versions of “Becoming” will be available beginning March 2, featuring new information on the former first lady, including a special introduction for kids” written by Obama, PEOPLE reports. 

According to the book’s website, the young reader’s edition features colorful photo inserts, while the paperback includes “a letter from the author to her younger self and a book club guide with 20 discussion questions and a 5-question Q&A.”

In an Instagram post announcing the upcoming books, Obama noted that writing her memoir was “one of the most freeing experiences of my life.”

“And one of the highlights of my experience was hearing from so many of you and getting into the kind of deep, honest conversations that leave everyone feeling more connected and nourished,” Obama added. “My hope is that the young readers’ edition of Becoming can serve as a conversation starter for you,” she wrote. “Maybe it’ll open up new dialogues with your children or grandchildren. Maybe you can use it as an opportunity to begin a book club with the young people you know or use it as an excuse to invite them into your existing book club.”

Read her full IG post above.

Read More: Michelle Obama’s next project is a companion to ‘Becoming’

Obama concluded her message by sharing the hashtag  #IAmBecoming, urging readers to use it to share their “Becoming” experience on social media.

via Twitter

“I want to hear it all! Whether it’s revelatory, a little messy, or even downright uncomfortable, I’m always interested in what kind of new awareness a good conversation can bring,” she wrote.

In 2019, Obama released “Becoming: A Guided Journal for Discovering Your Voice,” as a companion to her bestselling memoir. It features an introduction by Obama and quotations and questions designed to help readers tell their own stories, theGRIO reported.

In the introduction, Obama noted her hope that the journal encourages people to write down their “experiences, thoughts, and feelings, in all their imperfections, and without judgment.”

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