"Becoming," the best-selling memoir by the former first lady, Michelle Obama, is a study in what happens when the ways we see ourselves don't always line up with the ways that society sees us. In reading about her journey from high-achieving, self-possessed child in Chicago to the fraught glamour of her life in the White House, we marvel at the ways she balanced herself and her image in service of the country. And we discuss how Michelle Obama's memoir fits into a powerful lineage of black women navigating entirely new circumstances with curiosity, strength and grace.

Discussed this week:

• “Becoming” (Michelle Obama, 2019)
• Beyoncé singing “At Last” at Barack Obama’s 2008 inauguration
• “Lean In” (Sheryl Sandberg, 2013)
• “Complete Writings: Phillis Wheatley” (Phillis Wheatley, 2001)
• “Thick: And Other Essays” (Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom, 2019)
• “Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower” (Dr. Brittney Cooper, 2018)
• “Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds” (adrienne maree brown, 2017)