"Economic inequality is one cultural divide that causes us to see one another as stereotypes, some of which allow the powerful to make harmful decisions in policy and politics." -- Heartland

This memoir is heartbreaking, powerful stuff.

Becoming is glorious in its perspective and honest in its revelry.

I liked... the getting to know you phase of the book. As a girl from a few hours west of the South Side of Chicago, I couldn't help but identify with the Midwest work ethic and drive.

I loved... the behind the scenes parts, where we learn about her relationships with her team and staff. Connecting to people is a valuable skill we could all stand to improve.

Well done.

I wanted Americans to understand that words matter - that the hateful language they heard coming from their TVs did not reflect the true spirit of our country and that we could vote against it...Dignity had always gotten us through...It was a choice, and not always the easy one...When they go low, we go high.

- Michelle Obama, on her approach to making her speech at the 2012 DNC

Earnestly and expertly, he cast himself not as an outsider but rather as a literal embodiment of the American story. He reminded the audience that a country couldn't be carved up simply into red and blue, that we were united by a common humanity, compelled to care for the whole of society.

- Michelle Obama, on Barack Obama's keynote address to the DNC, Boston, 2004.

#17minutes #potus #flotus

"This meant finding a new profession, and what shook me most was that I had no concrete ideas about what I wanted to do. Somehow, in all my years of schooling, I hadn't managed to think through my own passions and how they might match up with work I found meaningful . As a young person, I'd explored exactly nothing."

Same here. I have happened upon my career. When does one reach the point of no return?

Chapter 7, Becoming...

"A senior partner asks if you'll mentor an incoming summer associate, and the answer is easy: Of course you will. You have yet to understand the altering force of a simple yes."

How powerful can a yes be? What can you say yes to? What should you have said yes to?

I rarely chose to join the neighborhood kids who played outside after school, nor did I invite school friends home with me, in part because I was a fastidious kid and didn't want anyone meddling with my dolls.

Michelle Obama, on life at home on the South Side of Chicago

[Things I learned today: Michelle Obama and I both don't like meddlers]

If there was one irritant that now stirred his blood and arguably blurred his vision, it was the influence of communism. He believed that "America faced no more insidious or evil threat" and that the movie business was especially vulnerable. The good guys (like him) had to root out the culprits and "protect the people who were innocent." This became his mantra - his mission.

Ronnie wanted to protect the movies, the little guy, & the heartland.

It was a triumphant moment. And the triumph - something he took as a personal triumph - was a revelation... He'd discovered the power of performance, how his words could spark action. It was a defining moment in Ronald Reagan's life.

- Regarding the delivery of the motion calling for Eureka College President Wilson's resignation by Ronald Reagan, November 1928

The first landmark that caught any newcomer's eye, however, was the wooden "Welcome to Dixon" arch that spanned Galena Avenue between the courthouse and the post office... Dutch Reagan knew the details by heart. He walked through that arch almost immediately upon arriving in Dixon...

#DixonIL #Hometown #WW1arch

Shakespeare's penmanship is irrelevant to his art; Rembrandt's way with a brush IS his art.

The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, 1633. The painting is still missing from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston) after a theft in 1990.

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn.