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Michelle Obama admits she suffers from self-doubt

Photo credit: NBC - Getty Images
Photo credit: NBC - Getty Images

From Prima

Michelle Obama is one of the most loved former First Lady's ever, as well as a captivating speaker, two-time author, and, as if that wasn't enough, a qualified attorney. However, even a CV bursting at the seams with achievements, can't always quell that feeling of self-doubt that we experience as humans.

Michelle has always been honest and open about her personal struggles, from suffering with low-grade depression after lockdown to experiencing rough patches within her marriage and going through menopause while in the White House, she has proved time and time again that she is also subject to the full spectrum of emotions we all experience.

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Michelle's memoir, Becoming, has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide, but, in a personal essay published in The Sunday Times Style (28th February), the mother-of-two revealed that she was racked with self-doubt when it was first published.

"I’m proud of this book, truly, because of what it means to me. And hopefully, what it will mean to you," she explained. "I knew from the outset that if I was going to write a memoir, it had to include more than the shade of blue I chose for a china pattern or who was or wasn’t invited to a State Dinner."

But it wasn't always smooth sailing.

"This isn’t to say any of this was easy," the 57-year-old continued. "Particularly the experience of baring this truest version of myself for the entire world to accept or leave behind."

Michelle goes on to confess that the night before the book went on sale, she "woke up in a panic".

She added: "The following evening, I was scheduled to discuss my memoir with Oprah Winfrey in front of 14,000 people in a professional basketball arena, an event that would kick off a worldwide [book] tour.

"I laid awake anxious in my bed, worried that these little stories couldn’t bear the enormous load. What if the book just isn’t any good? What if people hate it? Or what if they just don’t care at all? My husband [Barack Obama] stays up much later than me, and thankfully, he was still awake when my fears came to visit and wouldn’t leave."

"I crawled out of bed, put my slippers on, and went down to talk with him. Maybe the tour wasn’t a very smart idea, I told him. Maybe the book will flop. Barack put his arms around me and placed his forehead on mine. 'It’s good, Miche,' he told me. 'It really is.'."

And her comments are an important reminder for all of us that self-doubt is not about how much we have or haven't achieved, it is an inherent vulnerability that we are all prone to feeling at some point or another.

"I’d spent eight years as First Lady of the United States. I’d done more interviews than I could count and given more speeches than I can remember. Oprah Winfrey wasn’t some high-powered moderator, she was my friend. But the doubts never leave us for good.

"We all have our tender spots, and our instinct is to keep them protected. This book affirmed within me the value in bucking against that instinct, in stepping into our fears,' she concludes.

And, true to form, the bestselling author hopes that her words, and her story, will serve to inspire others, to help us feel less alone when experiencing our own difficult mix of feelings: "I hope that as you read my story, you’ll reflect on your own — every one of your bumps and bruises, each of your successes and bursts of laughter. And then I hope you’ll share that story, all of it, especially the most tender spots. Because that’s how we all can keep becoming."

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