WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� said she struggled with a 鈥渃rushing sense of hopelessness鈥� after the 2020 presidential election that was brought on by the death and isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, a summer of political and racial unrest and the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
鈥淚 was in a low place,鈥� she said. Then she got an idea.
鈥淓veryone was searching for some answers of how to cope. And for some reason they were asking me, 鈥榃hat do you do?鈥� I had to start thinking about that,鈥� the former first lady in an interview pegged to Tuesday's release of She is set to open in Washington on that day.
In the book, former President Barack Obama's wife, who is one of the world's most famous women, tells how she steadies herself during these anxious times and how she works at overcoming her lifelong fear of change and doubts about herself.
鈥淥ver the 58 years that I've lived, I can look back and I can say, 鈥楾his is how I deal with fear. These are the things I say to myself when I need to pick myself up. This is how I stay visible in a world that doesn鈥檛 necessarily see a tall Black woman,'" she said. 鈥淭his is how I stay armored up when I'm attacked. The book is that offering.鈥�
鈥淚 think people learn not through edict, but through stories,鈥� she said. People posted a report on the interview on its website on Thursday, and it will appear in the magazine's Nov. 21 issue, available nationwide on Friday.
Mrs. Obama, the mother of Sasha and Malia Obama, opens up in the book about everything from how awkward it is to make new friends to her experiences with racism, marriage, parenting and even menopause.
She also writes about leaning on a 鈥渒itchen table鈥� of close girlfriends, led by her 85-year-old mother, Marian Robinson. The group includes , a hiking and yoga pal who is the ex-wife of President Joe Biden's son Hunter and the mother of Maisy Biden, Sasha Obama's best friend.
In 2018, Mrs. Obama released and embarked on a U.S. and international book tour to promote it. The book has sold more than 17 million copies worldwide, surpassing the sales of any memoir by a previous first lady or modern president, including .
In her new book, the former first lady describes looking in the mirror and only seeing her flaws, and how she practices being kind to herself.
She said she also copes by indulging in what her husband calls 鈥渓owbrow TV.鈥�
鈥淵ou name it, I watch it," she said, naming HGTV, anything on the Food Channel and dating shows like 鈥淢arried at First Sight" among her viewing choices.
The former first lady described herself as an informed citizen who reads the newspaper, gets briefs, sits with her husband every night and knows what's happening in the world.
But she said that 鈥渨hen I鈥檓 by myself, I need to be able to turn my head off and think about wallpaper.鈥�
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Darlene Superville, The Associated Press
