So far we’ve highlighted Black History Month on the blog with Black Visual Artists, Black History, and Black Musicians and Poets. We’ve got one left in queue for next week–Activists and Advocates–, but we’d like to finish the month by sharing a list of your favorite books by Black authors. 

Share your favorite 1-2 books by Black American authors. They can be fiction or nonfiction, classic or contemporary, any reading level (kids, middle grades, YA, or adult), any topic or genre, and they do not have to be from/currently in the Durham Tech Library collections. 

We’ve got a form to keep it all organized and orderly: Durham Tech’s Favorite Authors & Books for Black History Month [form]

Participants will be entered to win either a Durham Tech Library water bottle or fanny pack if they so desire!

Respond to Meredith Lewis (lewisma @ durhamtech.edu) with any specific questions.

Now onto the main event!

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This book, more self-help than memoir, draws on Michelle Obama’s personal struggles and shares her strategies for staying optimistic.  Yes, despite fame, financial success, and inestimable clout, Michelle has relatable doubts and fears (is the pandemic ever going to end?, will my family be okay?, how can I keep my balance in an uncertain world?). Creating connection and “going high” are tools we can all use. 

Title: The Light We Carry

Author: Michelle Obama                       

Genre: Self-Help with a memoir twist 

Read Great Things 2023 Categories: A book to improve your mental or physical health; A book about an experience different than your own; A book recommended by a Durham Tech Library staff member or on the blog 

This book was read by Susan Baker, Main Campus Reference Librarian.

Why did you choose to read this?  

One of our library’s newest books, it was right here in the library, waiting for me to take a dive into the mind and heart of the extraordinary Michelle Obama. 

I’ve long admired her and I decided not to wait another minute to dig into her newest work. 

What did you like about it?

In The Light We Carry, Michelle Obama shares her strategies for coping with stress and anxiety, offering personal examples for creating the connections that enrich our lives and strengthens our spirits. 

She believes that “each of us carries a bit of inner brightness” that we can use to create a better world.   Small things count–for example, learning to knit was something simple and accomplishable, something she could fix in a world of seemingly unfixable things. She discusses pushing past her fears, the deep breath of letting go when her daughters left for college, as well as the power of “not looking into others’ mirrors”, as she turned the idea that she was not “Princeton material” into the fuel to pursue her Ivy League dreams.

My favorite of all is her “Kitchen Table”, her ride-or-die inner circle of friendship and trust that she has worked over the years to create and maintain. All these strategies are derived from her personal experiences, accessible enough to make you think, “maybe I can do this, too.”

What would you pair this with? 

I’d pair this with a girls’ night in—a pajama party with lots of friends, lots of snacks, and lots of laughing.

The best life is all about the joy and hope in creating connection. 

Want more Michelle? 

Check out the Michelle Obama podcast Higher Ground, as well her memoir Becoming. Visit her White House garden in American Grown, or see her through the lens of others in The Meaning of Michelle.