Publisher Description
A collection of essays celebrating the influential former first lady, by an array of acclaimed contributors and with a foreword by Lena Dunham Michelle Obama’s legacy transcends categorization. Mrs. Obama was not only our first black first lady; she was President Obama’s equal partner in marriage and parenthood and a tireless advocate for women’s rights, education, healthy eating, and exercise. Her genre-busting personal style encouraged others to speak, to engage, even to dress as they wished. In an extension of his popular T, The New York Times Style Magazine feature, Nick Haramis has assembled nineteen essays from prizewinning writers, Hollywood stars, and political leaders—all of whom have been moved and influenced by Mrs. Obama’s extraordinary example of grace in power. Here are original testimonials from Gloria Steinem, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Alice Waters, and Charlamagne tha God, among others. Presidential biographer Jon Meacham supplies historical perspective. Actress Tracee Ellis Ross suggests that Mrs. Obama “provided an antidote to all the false representations of black women that have inundated us for centuries.” Anna Wintour and designer Jason Wu celebrate the former first lady’s impact as an international fashion icon. Two ninth-grade girls—one in training to be a boxer—talk about how Mrs. Obama has emboldened them to be themselves. Here are some of the many facets of Michelle Obama as she continues to inspire us, a stirring reminder that the best of America once lived in the White House, embodied in one authentic, inclusive, and courageous woman. Read by the authors and a full cast of narrators: Lena Dunham Nick Haramis Alice Waters Zainab Jah Janet Mock Raymond Lee Erin Spencer Adasendis De La Cruz Issa Rae Charlamagne tha God Gloria Steinem Patton Oswalt Hillary Huber Rashida Jones Jon Meacham Laura Camacho Gabourey Sidibe Kimberly Farr Adenrele Ojo Advance praise for Courage Is Contagious “Courage Is Contagious reminds us of the fortitude, brilliance, grace, humility, compassion, and humor of a woman we were so crazy lucky to have serve as first lady. This is an exceptional celebration of a most exceptional American.”—J.J. Abrams “The first lady planted a powerful new knowledge inside of each of us. When you read this book you realize it’s still in there and always will be.”—Miranda July, author of The First Bad Man and No One Belongs Here More Than You “The diversity of the voices in Courage Is Contagious captures perfectly why Michelle Obama is so remarkable. If we can all see our best selves in her so vividly, how can we really be that different from each other? This glorious little book will give you goosebumps as it takes you on a journey celebrating one of the most important people alive.”—iO Tillett Wright, author of Darling Days
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About the Authors
Nick Haramis, the editor in chief of Interview magazine, was formerly the articles editor at T: The New York Times Style Magazine. A contributor to publications including Billboard, Out, and The Wall Street Journal, he has interviewed everyone from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Meryl Streep. Prior to joining The New York Times, he was the editorial director of Bullett and, before that, the executive editor of BlackBook. He lives in New York City, and until recently hadn’t really considered moving back to his native Canada.
Lena Dunham is
the creator and star of the critically-acclaimed HBO series Girls, for which she also serves as
executive producer, writer, and director. She has been nominated for eight Emmy
awards and has won two Golden Globes, including one for best actress, for her
work on Girls. Lena has also written
and directed two feature length films (including 2011’s Tiny Furniture), created two web series, and is a frequent
contributor to the New Yorker. Lena
graduated from Oberlin College in 2008.
About the Narrators
Fred Sanders, an actor and Earphones Award–winning narrator, has received critics’ praise for his audio narrations that range from nonfiction, memoir, and fiction to mystery and suspense. He been seen on Broadway in The Buddy Holly Story, in national tours for Driving Miss Daisy and Big River, and on such television shows as Seinfeld, The West Wing, Will and Grace, Numb3rs,Titus, and Malcolm in the Middle. His films include Sea of Love, The Shadow, and the Oscar-nominated short Culture. He is a native New Yorker and Yale graduate.
Jon Meacham is a Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer and the author of several New York Times bestsellers, including three that have made their #1 bestsellers list. He is a contributing writer for the New York Times Book Review and a contributing editor of Time magazine, and he holds the Rogers Chair in the American Presidency at Vanderbilt University
Issa Rae is an American
actress and writer. She is the creator of the YouTube comedy series Awkward Black Girl as well as Ratchet
Piece Theater, The
“F” Word, and The Choir. Since the premiere of Awkward
Black Girl in
2011, Rae’s shows have garnered over 20 million views and more than 150,000
subscribers on YouTube.
Charlamagne Tha God is cohost of the nationally syndicated hip-hop iHeartRadio program The Breakfast Club and a television and media personality. He is also a social media influencer; an executive producer with his own production company, CThaGod World LLC; and cohost of the popular podcast Brilliant Idiots. Born and raised in a small town in South Carolina, Charlamagne quickly rose to become one of today’s most unique and compelling media personalities.
Alice Waters,
chef, author, and the proprietor of Chez Panisse, is an American pioneer of a
culinary philosophy that maintains that cooking should be based on the finest
and freshest seasonal ingredients that are produced sustainably and locally.
She is a passionate advocate for a food economy that is “good, clean, and
fair.” Waters is Vice President of Slow Food International, a nonprofit
organization that promotes and celebrates local artisanal food traditions and
has 100,000 members in over 130 countries. She is the author of eight books,
including The Art of Simple Food: Notes
and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution.
Gloria Steinem is a writer, lecturer, editor, and feminist activist. In 1972, she cofounded Ms. magazine, and she remained one of its editors for fifteen years. In 1968, she had helped to found New York magazine, where she was a political columnist and wrote feature articles. Her books include the bestsellers Revolution from Within, Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions, Moving beyond Words, and Marilyn: Norma Jeane. Steinem has received the Penney-Missouri Journalism Award, the Front Page and Clarion awards, National Magazine Awards, an Emmy citation for excellence in television writing, the Women’s Sports Journalism Award, the Lifetime Achievement in Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Society of Writers Award from the United Nations, and many other awards. In 2013, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama.
Patton Oswalt is an American stand-up comedian, actor, voice actor, and New York Times bestselling author. He has released television specials and critically acclaimed comedy albums, including the Grammy Award-nominated My Weakness Is Strong. He put together the Comedians of Comedy tour and television series and he has held recurring character roles on many television shows. He has appeared in more than twenty films and has worked as a voice actor in King of Queens, Cartoon Network’s Robotomy, and the Disney animated film Ratatouielle.
Gabra Zackman is an actress, author, and narrator who has won several AudioFile Earphones Awards. She was educated at Northwestern University. A classically trained actress, she has appeared in theaters all over the country as well as on film and television.