Michelle Obama: The Story Continues

Published in El Mundo
(Spain) on 21 November, 2018
by Rosa Villacastín (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Madeleine Brink. Edited by Helaine Schweitzer.

 

 

 

 

There is a scene at the beginning of Michelle Obama’s book that summarizes perfectly what leaving the White House meant for her, after eight years of living in a golden cage where her every move was observed. She describes the first night that she experienced post-first-lady freedom. The family had moved to a new home, and the house was still full of unopened boxes containing presidential memories: gifts from Native American students, photos from trips to Camp David, and even a signed book from Nelson Mandela.

Michelle was home alone, since Barack was away, Sasha had gone out with friends, and Malia was in New York, working and preparing to begin her studies at college. The two family dogs kept Michelle company, following her around the house. Sometime around dusk, she was hungry and went to the refrigerator, but it was surprisingly empty. Only a loaf of bread. She opened the package, took out two slices, toasted them, and went to the garden. This was the first time in years that she didn’t have to tell anybody what she was planning to do. And she felt alone, in the best possible way.

Michelle describes her childhood, her adolescence, and her university years, as well as her arrival at the White House, a place that is totally different from the neighborhood where she grew up with her parents and brother. She describes how the context of her youth helped forge her confidence and strength.

Michelle grew up in a lower middle class black family that had to scramble at times to make it to the end of the month. When she was young, her father was diagnosed with a degenerative illness that prevented him from working, so he was unable to continue visiting the neighborhoods where the most humble and neediest Democrats lived. From her mother, Michelle inherited her strength, her love of books and reading and her love for her family. Michelle writes often and affectionately about her brother, Craig, who, according to her, inherited the sweet smile and optimistic spirit of their father, and the relentlessness of their mother.

As was the case with many other families of their generation, social gatherings often centered on day-to-day struggles and individual problems among family and friends. The feeling was one of a wide community that cared for one another in solidarity. Her community forged her tenacity, which she summarized this way: “I had to learn how to use my voice in many different situations, with thugs in the neighborhood, in the university classrooms, and in the world.”

The advice that Michelle’s mother, Marian, gave her proved to be quite useful to the younger woman: “First make money. Then look for happiness.”

Just after her wedding ceremony, still dressed in white and dancing with Barack to Stevie Wonder, Michelle felt a realization that her partnership was already growing, in stability and endurance.

I’ve read many biographies, and few are as sincere and accessible as Michelle Obama’s. She relates intimate aspects of her life, like the birth of their daughters, her miscarriage, and rough patches in her marriage. She summarizes her marital difficulties: “I want to make sure that people know that marriage can be extremely hard and also extremely gratifying.”

The Obamas’ marriage has passed through both the good and the bad, and they have emerged more robust for the effort. Their partnership and growth is a large part of the reason they both emanate such magnetism.


Hay una escena en el inicio del libro de Michelle Obama que resume mejor que ninguna otra lo que para ella supuso abandonar la Casa Blanca, después de 8 años viviendo en una jaula de oro, donde le vigilaban hasta el más nimio de sus movimientos. Fue la noche en la que por primera vez supo lo que era disfrutar de la verdadera libertad. Se habían trasladado a su nuevo hogar, todavía atestado de cajas sin abrir, de regalos que le habían hecho estudiantes nativos americanos, de fotos de los días que pasaron en Camp David y hasta de un libro firmado por Nelson Mandela.

Se encontraba sola en su nueva casa, ya que Barack estaba de viaje, Sasha había salido con unos amigos y Malia vivía ya en Nueva York donde trabaja y se prepara para empezar sus estudios universitarios. Le acompañaban sus dos perros que le seguían por todas partes.

En un momento de la tarde, cuando ya anochecía, sintió hambre y se dirigió al frigorífico, que para su sorpresa estaba vacío: solo había un paquete de pan. Sacó dos rebanadas, las puso en la tostadora y se fue al jardín. Era la primera vez que no tenía que informar a nadie de lo que iba a hacer: se sintió sola, en el mejor de los sentidos...

Las descripciones que hace Michelle de su niñez, de su adolescencia, de sus años universitarios, de su llegada a la Casa Blanca, el reverso de la moneda del apartamento y el barrio donde vivió con sus padres y hermano hasta que se independizó, es con toda seguridad lo que ha configurado su fuerte personalidad.

Perteneciente a una familia de color, de clase media baja que tenía que hacer malabarismos para llegar a fin de mes, pronto le detectaron a su padre una enfermedad degenerativa que le impedía trabajar, no así seguir visitando los barrios y las zonas donde vivían los demócratas más humildes y necesitados.

De su madre heredó la fortaleza, el amor por los libros, por la lectura y por la familia. Michelle habla mucho y con cariño de su hermano Craig, que según dice, heredó la mirada tierna y el espíritu optimista de su padre y la implacabilidad de su madre. Como otras muchas familias de la época, las tertulias giraban sobre los problemas cotidianos, los suyos propios, los de sus abuelos a los que visitaban todos los fines de semana, los tíos y los de una comunidad amplia y solidaria. De ellos heredó Michelle esa fuerza que le caracteriza, que ella resume en pocas palabras:

"Tuve que aprender a usar mi voz en multitud de escenarios, desde el barrio con sus matones, hasta las aulas universitarias y las plazas del mundo".

Mariam, su madre, le dio un consejo que ha seguido al pie de la letra: "Primero, gana dinero y después, preocúpate por tu felicidad".

Después de contraer matrimonio con Barack Obama, todavía vestida de blanco, mientras sonaba la música de Stevie Wonder, empezó a consolidar lo que ella define como "un nosotros" tan sólido como eterno.

He leído muchas biografías, pocas tan sinceras y amenas como las de Michelle Obama, en las que cuenta aspectos íntimos de su vida, como fue el nacimiento de sus hijas, el aborto que tuvo o los momentos controvertidos por los que ha atravesado su matrimonio, que resume con estas palabras: "Quiero asegurarme de que la gente sepa que el matrimonio puede ser extremadamente difícil y extremadamente gratificante".

Su matrimonio ha pasado por ambos procesos y de todos han salido fortalecidos, de ahí ese magnetismo que desprenden ambos.
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