Becoming

Michelle continues to adjust to motherhood and her career, finding ways to thrive in both, like utilizing the local mall during her lunch break to run errands. With Barack’s busy schedule and traveling, Michelle tries her best to keep up the semblance of a stable family life: “My work was interesting and rewarding, but still I had to be careful not to let it consume me. I felt I owed that to my girls” (210). Barack wants to run again for the U.S. Senate, but Michelle doesn’t think it’s a good idea, so they run it by a group of friends and family.

To Michelle’s dismay, Barack convinces everyone it’s a good idea, though Michelle adds the caveat that if Barack loses the race, that will be the end of his political career. Barack successfully wins his campaign and is invited to speak at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, a moment that seems to Michelle to be fated. Barack wows the crowd with his impressive rhetoric about uniting the country “by a common humanity” instead of by parties (215). The speech is a huge success, with people calling for Barack to run for president, his phone ringing nonstop, Barack’s book

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