Michelle Obama At Number One
On November 15, Penguin Random House published “The Light We Carry,” Michelle Obama’s new book, in all its markets. Immediately upon its release, the advice book by the former First Lady of the U.S. jumped to the top of the bestseller lists in many countries around the world. “The Light We Carry” even went straight to number one in countries including the U.S., Canada, and Germany.
The rave reviews and the enormous demand for tickets for her book tour already hinted at it, and now it has been confirmed: Michelle Obama’s new book, “The Light We Carry,” released on 15 November, went straight into the nonfiction bestseller lists worldwide, even soaring to number one in several cases. “The Light We Carry” is number one in Mrs. Obama’s home country, the U.S. (“New York Times” bestseller list), but also in Canada (“Globe And Mail” bestseller list), and Germany (“Spiegel” bestseller list). In the U.K., the book is currently at number five on the “Sunday Times” bestseller list.
On the day of the book’s release on 15 November, numerous positive reviews appeared in the national media of the U.S. and other countries. The “New York Times,” for one, wrote: “So it is perhaps no surprise that Obama’s road map for uncertain times resonates in ways that other self-help books do not. If I am going to have someone guide me through this terrain…I want to hear from Michelle Obama…”. The “Washington Post” writes: “What makes the book special is that it builds on parts of BECOMING, and Obama serves as mentor and guide, using pivotal moments in her life to demonstrate when she had to rely on boldness, pluck and grit, as she made her way from a second-floor apartment on Chicago’s South Euclid Avenue to the Ivy League to what she describes as a ‘132-room palace, surrounded by guards.’” And Germany’s “Zeit” concludes: “This book is an attempt to rescue America, that is, a deeply patriotic matter – and a very wisely executed one. In opposition to the erosions of the Trump years, she is concerned with the preservation of a strong, defensible American civil society that accepts and appreciates itself in its diversity.”
Michelle Obama believes that with some practical tools, people can safely navigate even the biggest changes in life. In “The Light We Carry,” she enters into conversation with her readers, addressing the questions that most struggle with on a regular basis: How do stable and sincere relationships succeed? How can we find strength and common ground even in conflict? What tools are available to us to express self-doubt and helplessness? What can we do when everything suddenly becomes too much? Encouraging stories and inspiring thoughts show how Michelle Obama thinks about change, challenges, and what is within our power to do. In her role as mother, daughter, wife, friend, and First Lady, she shares the basic principles and beliefs that have helped her overcome even the most difficult obstacles in life and keep growing
Penguin Random House publishers around the world had once again worked closely together to make possible the book’s simultaneous worldwide release on November 15 The English-language edition of “The Light We Carry” is published in the U.S. and Canada by Crown, a Random House Publishing Group company. In the U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India, and South Africa, the book is published by Viking, a publisher of Penguin Random House UK. The German-language edition, entitled “Das Licht in uns – Halt finden in unsicheren Zeiten,” is published by Goldmann, a publisher of the Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe. In Spain, Plaza & Janes, a Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial publisher, will publish “Con luz propia.” In Brazil, the publisher of the Portuguese-language edition is Objetiva, a Companhia das Letras imprint; in Portugal, it is the Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial subsidiary Objetiva. And in China, a Chinese edition is published by Penguin Random House China. “The Light We Carry” was released simultaneously in 14 languages and 27 countries.
