I listen to audiobooks sparingly, and I don’t particularly like reading books Everyone Else Has Read. The Chaplain got Becoming, by Michelle Obama, on his audiobook app. I eyed it, noting that it was 19 hours long. That is a long time. And Everyone was reading it.

But I was curious, and once I start wondering, I usually don’t stop until I’m satisfied. I started listening at 1.25 speed, which took the total length down to 15.2 hours, which is still daunting, but not as daunting as 19 hours.

Also helpful? Michelle Obama has an amazing reading voice, truly pleasant to listen to, both in tone and cadence.* Compare this to some of the other audiobooks I’ve listened to in the past year or so, this alone was a huge selling point.

Michelle Obama has a compelling story. She has a backstage pass – the tale of the man behind the President. The story of how his drive affected his family and changed the trajectory of their lives. She describes the complexities of what was going on behind the scenes both before and during the Obamas’ time at the White House.

I’ve read other books about Presidents and living in the White House. Perhaps because it was so comprehensive, interesting, and current, I think I enjoyed this one the most. Sure, there are few details skipped, hence the super-long listen time, but Obama makes us want to listen.

She is the female voice of the story of the Obamas. Her thoughts, feelings, and emotions are relatable; her struggles mirrored my own.

I remember years ago when my own mind lived in a more partisan world, how I read a feature piece in a weekly news magazine featuring the Obamas. I was surprised people with their political leanings could consider themselves Christians (I cringe saying that now). The article put a human face on the Other Side.

My world is bigger now. When I think about choosing a worthy leader for our nation, it’s about who is seeking more Christ-like goals – the widow, the foreigner, the orphan, the marginalized, the poor – how are we treating those people? That, not “Moral Superiority,” is what matters, because WHAT IS MORAL SUPERIORITY, ANYWAY?

I appreciated that Obama focused on telling her own story from beginning to end. She pulled in details from others’ lives that created turning points for her on her journey, but she mainly focused on herself. She finished her tale with the transition into the Trump presidency. I was impressed by how she took the high road with her telling.

Dignity is a word oft associated with the Obamas, and with good reason. Certainly no one is perfect, but the Obamas are a family who were held to a high standard, and they bore up under pressure and showed themselves to be up to the challenge. I’m glad I found 15 hours to listen to Becoming, because it was certainly worth my time.

*There is only one other audiobook narrator I enjoyed as much as Michelle Obama, and that is Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket. He narrated the audios for a number of his books from the Series of Unfortunate Events. The ones he didn’t narrate were done by Tim Curry. Tim Curry has a good reading voice, but Daniel Handler is fantastic. He knows exactly how to tell those stories because he wrote them. I listened to them on my commutes during a time in my life when I was feeling very alone and had an unfulfilling job. Listening to those audiobooks was one of the highlights of a dark time.

If you’ve been reading for a while, you know how I hate photographing audiobooks. I got wise and did a screenshot on my laptop this time, and folks, I think we have a winner.