Michelle Obama has won another Grammy Award for her audiobook narration and storytelling in the category of Best Audiobook for her book “The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times.” The former first lady, aged 60, recorded the voiceover for her third book, published in November 2022.
“The Light We Carry” is a compilation of Michelle Obama’s experiences as a public figure, wife, mother, and woman. In the book, she offers insightful reflections on change, challenge, and power. It has achieved New York Times Bestseller status and garnered Michelle Obama an Emmy nomination for a Netflix special with Oprah.
Combining memoir and self-help, the book is inspired by the tumultuous period of 2020-2021, marked by political upheaval and the COVID-19 pandemic. Michelle Obama added that the book also has insights on coping with the stress and anxiety of recent years and reflections on her life.
She described the book as a source of personal motivation, revealing, “These are the things I say to myself when I need to pick myself up.” She stated that the book serves as her way of remaining resilient and visible in a world that may overlook a tall Black woman like herself, offering a form of armor against attacks.
Michelle Obama’s competitors in the Best Audiobook category included Senator Bernie Sanders for “It’s OK to Be Angry About Capitalism,” Meryl Streep for narrating “Big Tree” by Brian Selznick, William Shatner for “Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder,” and record producer Rick Rubin for “The Creative Act: A Way of Being.”
This marks Michelle Obama’s second Grammy win in this category; she previously won in 2020 for the audiobook of her first memoir, “Becoming.”
Although she was not present at the ceremony to accept the award, presenter Esperanza Spalding indicated she would “gladly accept on her behalf.”
Michelle Obama’s recent Grammy win in the spoken word category brings her tally to two, matching her husband, former President Barack Obama’s Grammy count. Both now hold two awards in the spoken word category.
