Michelle Obama Revelation: Ex-FLOTUS Lost Sleep While Promoting ‘Becoming,’ Woke Up Panicking

Michelle Obama is so used to speaking in front of the crowds as the former first lady of the United States. She stood beside her husband, former president Barack Obama, for eight long years.

But it was only while she was promoting her best-selling memoir, “Becoming,” that she struggled to talk to people. During her recent interview with People magazine, the ex-FLOTUS revealed that she lost a bit of sleep and woke up panicking while touring for her book.

“I still remember waking up in a bit of a panic the night before my first tour event in the United Centre in Chicago, this huge basketball arena. Were people really going to come? Was it going to be any good? Here I’d been the first lady of the United States for eight years, giving speeches in front of huge crowds, but this felt so different,” she said.

For the first time in eight years, the ex-FLOTUS realized how different her memoir and tour were from her work as a first lady. She was no longer promoting policy or rallying the public’s votes; she was simply standing in front of the crowds talking about her feelings and vulnerabilities.

Barack’s wife’s first tour stop was in Chicago, which she said felt like a bit of a homecoming gig. She visited her old high school and met up with the students who are now occupying her old classroom. While there, the former FLOTUS asked the young girls who among them didn’t feel like they belonged in a room with her.

“Almost every girl raised her hand. That’s been the most powerful part of the last year — talking with all sorts of young people about how the things that we think are our inadequacies are usually our strengths. The simple act of sharing our fears and vulnerabilities helps us embrace our own stories and recognize how much we share with one another,” she said.