Michelle Obama just can’t lose these days! The former first lady won a Grammy Award for her audiobook Becoming on Sunday.
Obama was in competition with the Beastie Boys, Eric Alexandrakis, John Waters, and Sekou Andrews & The String Theory. This is Obama’s first Grammy win and her second nomination. She was previously nominated for 2013’s American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America.
“Thank you to the Recording Academy for this honor! I had plenty of doubts about sharing so much of myself in Becoming, but this moment is another reminder that when we own the truth of who we are, we give ourselves the chance to connect with others in real, meaningful ways.” Obama says in a press release.
Since Becoming was released on Nov. 13, 2018, it has “sold more than 12 million units worldwide across print, digital, and audio formats, including more than 7.5 million units in the U.S. and Canada alone, and has been published in 46 languages. The audiobook has also been on the New York Times Audio Nonfiction Best Seller List for 14 straight months since its publication, including 7 months in the #1 slot.”
Obama’s latest book, Becoming: A Guided Journal for Discovering Your Voice, was released on Nov. 19 as a companion piece to her critically-acclaimed memoir, Becoming, and features an “intimate introduction” from Obama, herself.
The Becoming journal includes more than 150 inspiring questions and quotes that resonate with key themes in Obama’s memoir. It was also designed to help readers reflect on their personal and family history, goals, challenges, dreams, motivation, hopes, and what future they imagine for themselves and their community.
In a statement, Obama explained that she hopes people will use the Becoming journal, “to write down your experiences, thoughts, and feelings, in all their imperfections, and without judgment.” She continued, “We don’t have to remember everything. But everything we remember has value.”
Obama was recently named the “most admired woman” in the world for the second time in as many years in the annual Gallup Poll. The former first lady was also named one of the 2019 People of the Year by People magazine.