Search  for anything...

The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times

  • Based on 2,500 reviews
Condition: New
Checking for product changes
$16.89 Why this price?
Save $15.61 was $32.50

Buy Now, Pay Later


As low as $4 / mo
  • – 4-month term
  • – No impact on credit
  • – Instant approval decision
  • – Secure and straightforward checkout

Ready to go? Add this product to your cart and select a plan during checkout. Payment plans are offered through our trusted finance partners Klarna, PayTomorrow, Apple Pay, and PayPal. No-credit-needed leasing options through Acima may also be available at checkout.

Learn more about financing & leasing here.

Selected Option

Free shipping on this product

This item is eligible for return within 30 days of receipt

To qualify for a full refund, items must be returned in their original, unused condition. If an item is returned in a used, damaged, or materially different state, you may be granted a partial refund.

To initiate a return, please visit our Returns Center.

View our full returns policy here.


Availability: In Stock.
Fulfilled by Amazon

Arrives Thursday, May 9
Order within 1 hour and 49 minutes
Available payment plans shown during checkout

Format: Hardcover


Description

1 NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER • ONE OF TIME’S 100 MUST-READ BOOKS OF 2022 • In an inspiring follow-up to her critically acclaimed, 1 bestselling memoir Becoming, former First Lady Michelle Obama shares practical wisdom and powerful strategies for staying hopeful and balanced in today’s highly uncertain world. There may be no tidy solutions or pithy answers to life’s big challenges, but Michelle Obama believes that we can all locate and lean on a set of tools to help us better navigate change and remain steady within flux. In The Light We Carry, she opens a frank and honest dialogue with readers, considering the questions many of us wrestle with: How do we build enduring and honest relationships? How can we discover strength and community inside our differences? What tools do we use to address feelings of self-doubt or helplessness? What do we do when it all starts to feel like too much? Michelle Obama offers readers a series of fresh stories and insightful reflections on change, challenge, and power, including her belief that when we light up for others, we can illuminate the richness and potential of the world around us, discovering deeper truths and new pathways for progress. Drawing from her experiences as a mother, daughter, spouse, friend, and First Lady, she shares the habits and principles she has developed to successfully adapt to change and overcome various obstacles—the earned wisdom that helps her continue to “become.” She details her most valuable practices, like “starting kind,” “going high,” and assembling a “kitchen table” of trusted friends and mentors. With trademark humor, candor, and compassion, she also explores issues connected to race, gender, and visibility, encouraging readers to work through fear, find strength in community, and live with boldness. “When we are able to recognize our own light, we become empowered to use it,” writes Michelle Obama. A rewarding blend of powerful stories and profound advice that will ignite conversation, The Light We Carry inspires readers to examine their own lives, identify their sources of gladness, and connect meaningfully in a turbulent world. Read more


Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crown (November 15, 2022)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593237463


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 65


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.32 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.38 x 1.15 x 9.57 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #8 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #1 in Black & African American Biographies #2 in Women's Biographies #6 in Memoirs (Books)


#1 in Black & African American Biographies:


#2 in Women's Biographies:


Frequently asked questions

If you place your order now, the estimated arrival date for this product is: Thursday, May 9

Yes, absolutely! You may return this product for a full refund within 30 days of receiving it.

To initiate a return, please visit our Returns Center.

View our full returns policy here.

  • Klarna Financing
  • Klarna Pay in 4
  • PayTomorrow Financing
  • Apple Pay Later
Leasing options through Acima may also be available during checkout.

Learn more about financing & leasing here.

Top Amazon Reviews


  • Full of tips and tools from Michelle Obama's life journey
Michelle Obama has traveled far and learned much, and she is generous to share her thoughts with us. She says right in the beginning that there's no magic formula for dealing with the constant change and endless anxiety of life. What she does offer is a glimpse into her personal toolbox, with some anecdotes about how she gained and uses the particular tools. I found myself laughing and nodding as I read her personal accounts (marriage is hard, she says, and sometimes you want to push your mate "out a window." Which gave me a cartoon image of her pushing Barack...how unlikely! And yet, human.) I highlighted dozens of passages. I also appreciated that she gave us more of a glimpse of her emotional landscape than in Becoming, her first book. Still, this book was somewhat guarded, as was that one. You do get a sense of the deeper emotions around her life and world, and I think that's because she's the first and only, and she bears that weight carefully. Also, you can only wonder what kind of cruelty she's endured to make her words so cautious. So that's my one criticism: it's a dense read. I found myself missing some points if I was tired or not paying close attention. However, if I DID pay attention, I got such gems as these: "I wonder if it's time to stop asking, 'When will this end?' and instead start considering a different, more practical set of questions about staying upright inside of challenge and change: How do we adapt? How do we get more comfortable, less paralyzed, inside of uncertainty?" Who doesn't want to know that? She also learned so much from her good, strong parents who gave her life tools. Here's something she says about her father, who struggled with multiple sclerosis: "With his centeredness, my dad was able to look past whatever mirror the world might have held up to him, all the ways a blue-collar Black man walking on crutches might otherwise be made to feel worthless or invisible. He didn't focus on who he wasn't, or what he didn't have. Instead, he measured his value by who he was and what he had--love, community, food in the fridge, two tall and noisy kids, and friends knocking on his door. He saw these things as success and as reason to keep going. It was evidence he mattered." One of the main lessons / reminders I got from the book was to invest in my relationships; to maintain friendships, because if anything is the magic in life, that is. Also, to respect the person I am at my core, while letting the doubting side of my personality coexist with my healthy side. The Doubter is there to keep me anxious and I can't get rid of her so might as well let her be. Even in the face of global horror or meanness closer to home, I will do the best I can and find comfort in knowing my own self-worth. Bottom line, this book is a worthwhile read, full of good strategies for staying whole in the face of modern weirdness, but it's not a beach read! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2022 by Lynne M. Spreen

  • Easily One of My Favorite Books!
We spend so much time searching for things that we think are going to enhance our lives, or make us better people, but I have always kind of believed that the things we really need have a way of finding us. This book is evidence of that for me. I had no idea how much I needed some of the things that Michelle Obama shared in this book until I heard it from her voice to my ears. I will always get the audible version of her books because there’s nothing more powerful and comforting than hearing it in her voice. From chapter to chapter and page to page, I felt like I was part of her Kitchen Table. This will definitely be a book that I will go back to from time to time, because depending on where I am in my life and where the world is at a certain time, I think the meaning and the impact of her wisdoms will change and get me through anything that comes along. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2022 by Debra M.

  • Strengths in Our Differentness!
In The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times, Michelle Obama has an honest dialogue with her readers as she faces her own vulnerabilities. During the pandemic lockdown, she picked up knitting to keep her thoughts and hands moving forward quite like Madame Defarge in The Tale of Two Cities. Women have found great calm and comfort in this art form during stressful times, for centuries. Michelle Obama then gives a list of tools that have been helpful to her as she navigated both the White House years and the post White House years. She has given herself permission to feel uncertain as most people do at varying points. That is when she relies on her closet friends when they have their Kitchen Table talks, or she exercises, walks, or talks things through with her husband and family. She looks back over her life when she was often a minority or the only person of color in the room. But her mother prepared her to think for herself and as a kindergartener, she set her own alarm clock and walked to school alone, a short distance away. She learned how to be independent, solve problems and was allowed to voice her opinions at home. She was being prepped for her future role as First Lady of the United States. This book encourages its readers by giving them a host of antidotes to dealing with low self-esteem and shows readers how to survive and excel. The Light We Carry should be on every young professional’s bookshelf or Kindle! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2022 by Lynn M.

  • Great read
Mrs Obama sheds light on marriage, parenting, career, and living in what can seem like a dark world. I enjoyed this book more than Becoming ....Mrs Obama felt like a great friend or big sister sharing much-needed knowledge. Loved it!
Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2022 by Katara

  • Excellent Advice
Michelle Obama is so down to earth. I loved reading about what she experienced growing up and how she had to work hard to fit in. She and Barack managed to live in the spotlight and to avoid any scandals. We need more people like them on our planet.
Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2022 by Mary Sue Matthews

  • Wow! What a great book.
I started this last night. Started in middle of book, read a bit, went elsewhere in the book and read a bit and then to new section of the book. I wish I had had a friend like her when I was young. She is wonderful Mom, excellent attorney, great wife and great partner. She had great parents and family. So many of us weren't so lucky. And she asked herself the same questions we all ask ourselves as women. She has answers! Too bad I found her so late in my life. Where were you, Mrs. O when I was 21? Great book for beginning and relatively new parents. Great book. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2022 by Amazon Customer

  • Great book by a true Christian.
It is so wonderful to read a positive and inspiring book. This is how a great book should be written. Instead of stepping on others (to make yourself seem taller) and consistently lying to hide the truth. This is an uplifting positive and hopeful book. Thank you, Mrs. President.
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2022 by gardener

  • Very warming and eye-opener reading.
Since I liked her first book Becoming, I bought this new book, and also enjoyed reading it. With her openness and candid way of taking us through her learning experiences in her different roles, she invites us to always look for ways to find your light and share it with the people around you.
Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2022 by Elvy

Can't find a product?

Find it on Amazon first, then paste the link below.