Michelle Obama’s The Light We Carry was released in paperback last week, and the former first lady made an incognito visit to a Target store to sign a few copies.
Obama’s book, published in hardcover in 2022 by Crown, is a self-help book that gives advice to readers about handling anxiety and stress. A critic for Kirkus wrote of the book, “No surprises or reveals but plenty of warmth and encouragement, particularly for young people. A good holiday gift.” Obama won her second Grammy for the audiobook edition.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, Obama posted a video of her visit to a Target in St. Louis. “We are on a mission,” she says from the backseat of an SUV. “It’s a secret mission. I had the crazy idea—I heard my paperback is out, and it’s in Target—so we are going to go undercover, because I have not seen my book in a Target store. So we are going to try to do this low-key.”
Obama enters the store donning sunglasses and a baseball cap, and finds a display of her books. “Here we are,” she says. “It’s me. Should I do a reading here?” She signs six of the books, before grabbing a handheld shopping basket and wandering through the store, seemingly unnoticed by other shoppers.
She picks up some dog toys, a polo shirt, and a blouse. “Got something for me, something for my husband, and something for Sunny. The girls, they can get their own stuff.”
She checks out and returns to the SUV, saying, “Mission accomplished. See you guys later, on the next covert operation.”
While in St. Louis, I stopped by @Target to run a few errands and check out the paperback of my book, #TheLightWeCarry. I left behind a few signed copies – if you find them, let me know! pic.twitter.com/4AhMU9zFPY
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) April 19, 2024
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.