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Viking to publish new book by Michelle Obama sharing her 'practical wisdom'
Michelle Obama is writing a new book with Penguin Random House, sharing “practical wisdom and strategies for staying hopeful and balanced”.
Viking will publish The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times in the UK and Ireland on 15th November. World rights were acquired by Markus Dohle, global c.e.o.
An unabridged audio edition of the book, read by Obama, will be simultaneously released in digital and physical formats by PRH Audio. The book will be published simultaneously in 14 languages and 27 countries around the world, with additional languages and territories to be announced.
Obama’s previous book Becoming (Viking) was a global bestseller and chronicled her life journey from her childhood on the south side of Chicago to her experiences as the first Black First Lady of the United States. The publisher said since its publication in 2018, Becoming has been translated into 50 languages and sold more than 17 million units across formats worldwide. In the UK it sold 780,950 copies in hardback for £11.8m through Nielsen BookScan, spending four weeks in the number one spot across December 2018 and going on to shift a further 63,863 paperbacks.
In The Light We Carry, 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.
The publisher said: “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 humour, candour, 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”.
In her introduction she says: “I’ve learned it’s okay to recognise that self-worth comes wrapped in vulnerability, and that what we share as humans on this earth is the impulse to strive for better, always and no matter what. We become bolder in brightness. If you know your light, you know yourself. You know your own story in an honest way. In my experience, this type of self-knowledge builds confidence, which in turn breeds calmness and an ability to maintain perspective, which leads, finally, to being able to connect meaningfully with others—and this to me is the bedrock of all things. One light feeds another. One strong family lends strength to more. One engaged community can ignite those around it. This is the power of the light we carry.”
Dohle added: “Penguin Random House is honoured to partner once again with Michelle Obama and to help bring her powerful storytelling and earned wisdom to readers everywhere. As the world struggles with an unprecedented health pandemic, deep political divisions, social and racial injustice, and anxiety about the future, I am confident that her new book will provide all of us with some urgently needed reassurance while rekindling a spirit of optimism about the power we all hold to positively shape our personal and collective futures.”
The print edition will have a suggested price of £25 and the digital edition will be priced £11.99.
