OBAMA: Michelle and inspiration

Want to understand why Michelle Obama was recently voted America’s most admired woman of the year? I recommend you read her book “Becoming,” a raw, honest and inspiring tale of her life from childhood on Euclid Avenue on South Side Chicago to her becoming our first lady living at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

She covers the events of her life in a down-to-earth way that connects as a universal experience with the reader. We can relate to her pain and anguish at the deaths of loved family members, at her need to protect her children from the eyes of the world and to allow them as normal a childhood as was possible, at her desire to stay focused and grounded as a woman, wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend in a public role filled with trials, tribulations and great rewards and blessings.

Michelle Obama shares her and President Obama’s desires for their administration and takes pride in all they were able to accomplish. A time when we had a government of decency and compassion where we trusted and supported our allies; where young children did not die in American custody; where we believed in the importance of clean air, water and land; where a reduction in the threat of nuclear war was possible; where the science of climate change directed policy; where the media was recognized as a guardrail to our democracy; and, where telling the truth was expected, even demanded. Eight years of no scandals.

Just imagine, if you will.

JAN STUDER

Coeur d’Alene