I hugely enjoyed reading Michelle Obama’s first book (see my blog on Becoming) and was eagerly anticipating her latest, The Light We Carry, and it didn’t disappoint.

It explores strategies for staying hopeful in an uncertain and demanding world, and is a good reminder that even those as successful and fabulous as Michelle Obama struggle like the rest of us and need to work at finding inner peace. She starts by exploring finding something that calms you. For her, knitting. For me, jigsaw puzzles. She then moves on to explore strategies for overcoming fear, and how powerful it is to practice kindness, to yourself as well as others.

She lays out her ‘kitchen table’ of trusted advisers who travel with her on life’s journey, and points out the power and joy of making new adult friends as well as keeping those around you who you have known forever. Her chapter on her marriage is perfectly titled ‘partnering well’, laying out the importance of that initial choice, the hard work entailed in keeping the flame alive through thick and thin and knowing when to end a relationship that isn’t working. There is also chapters on her fantastic Mum and the book ends with the philosophy that has become so associated with her, Going High.

Through all this runs how extra hard it is to make your way in a challenging world if you are minoritised, powerfully drawing on her own inspirational story as black woman. This is a truly uplifting read, a reminder that we are all in this thing called life together, and a book that I would highly recommend.