In a new Michelle Obama memoir titled Becoming, the former First Lady reveals intimate details about her marriage and life. The 426-page book will be released on Tuesday 13 November.
However on Friday 9 November, Mrs Obama spoke to ABC’s Good Morning America ahead of the launch.
She candidly spoke about her marriage, falling in love, even her miscarriage and IVF treatment.
Dispelling taboos around IVF, Mrs Obama candidly talks about using the fertility procedure herself.
Michelle Obama Memoir Reveals Intimate Details About Her Life
On getting pregnant
Mrs Obama revealed that she suffered a miscarriage 20 years ago, after which she felt “lost and alone”.
“I felt like I failed because I didn’t know how common miscarriages were because we don’t talk about them,” Mrs Obama said in the interview. “We sit in our own pain, thinking that somehow we’re broken.” She added that, “it’s important to talk to young mothers about the fact that miscarriages happen”.
Mrs Obama also said that when she was around 34 years old, she understood that “the biological clock is real” and that “egg production is limited”.
It was then that she decided to turn to IVF. And it was through this method of fertility treatment that her two daughters Sasha and Malia, were conceived.
“I think it’s the worst thing that we do to each other as women, not share the truth about our bodies and how they work,” she said.
The Michelle Obama memoir reveals intimate details about her marriage and courtship with her husband. Image: File Photo
On love, marriage and courtship
Mrs Obama reminisces about her days of early courtship with her now husband Barack Obama. They met when both were at the Chicago law firm named Sidley Austin LLP. She was his adviser.
She mentions that secretaries there thoughts he was clever and “cute”. Not quite convinced though, Mrs Obama writes that, “white people go bonkers any time you put a suit on a half-intelligent black man.”
But, she gave in to her feelings for him one summer night in Chicago, falling in love.
“As soon as I allowed myself to feel anything for Barack,” she writes, “the feelings came rushing – a toppling blast of lust, gratitude, fulfilment, wonder.”
Despite their marriage being picture-perfect, Mrs Obama admits they had their fair share of struggles. This intensified when her husband joined the state legislature while she was undergoing IVF treatment. She remembers the time she had to inject her IVF shots alone.
She and Barack Obama even sought the help of a marriage counselor at one point in their marriage.
“Marriage counselling for us was one of those ways where we learned how to talk out our differences,” she told ABC.
“I know too many young couples who struggle and think that somehow there’s something wrong with them. And I want them to know that Michelle and Barack Obama, who have a phenomenal marriage and who love each other, we work on our marriage. And we get help with our marriage when we need it.”
Mrs Obama also spoke strongly about her thoughts on the current U.S. President, Donald Trump, especially related to his attitude towards women in general.
Becoming will be out on November 13 and is considered to be the most anticipated book of the year. It will be released in 31 languages, with a first printing of three million copies.
Watch Michelle Obama’s interview:
Also read: The complete guide to fertility clinics in Singapore
References: BBC, CBC
