A revealing portrait of a young Black man asking questions about self-discovery and belonging -
long before he became one of the most important voices in America.The son of a white American
mother and a Black Kenyan father Obama was born in Hawaii where he lived until he was six
years old when he moved with his mother and stepfather to Indonesia. At twelve he returned to
Hawaii to live with his grandparents. Obama brings readers along while facing the challenges of
high school and college living in New York becoming a community organiser in Chicago and
travelling to Kenya. Through these experiences he forms an enduring commitment to leadership
and justice. Via the lens of his relationships with his family - the mother and grandparents
who raised him the father he knows more as a myth than as a man and the extended family in
Kenya he meets for the first time - Obama examines the complicated truth of his father's life
and legacy and comes to embrace his own divided heritage.On his journey to adulthood from a
humble background he forges his own path by trial and error while staying connected to his
roots. Barack Obama is determined to lead a life of purpose service and authenticity. This
powerful memoir will inspire readers to reflect on both where they come from and where they are
capable of going.
