Former first lady Michelle Obama expands her book tour

Former first lady Michelle Obama has added 21 new appearances to her international book tour to promote her memoir “Becoming,” officials announced Tuesday morning.

Obama will kick off the second leg of her book tour in Tacoma, Wash., and will concentrate on visiting cities where she hasn’t yet made appearances, such as Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Portland, Ore.; and Milwaukee. On Tuesday, officials had not revealed the lineup of personalities who would interview Obama on her next stops. Besides her appearances in the United States, Obama will also make stops in Amsterdam, London, Oslo, and throughout Canada.

She will not be returning to Chicago for another stop, her new schedule shows.

The announcement comes just as Obama has completed a 10-city tour, which kicked off here in her hometown at the United Center on Nov. 13, the day her book was released.

Obama’s book tour has been compared to large-scale rock concerts because she managed to sell out arenas and sports venues in Boston, New York, Detroit, Dallas and other spaces across the country.

Tickets for her appearance at United Center nearly sold out in less than a week, with prices ranging from $29 to $2,500. Ten percent of the tickets to her events were set aside for youth groups and charities.

During her visit to Chicago, Obama sat and discussed excerpts of her book with a group of teenage students at her alma mater, Whitney Young Magnet High School. She spent some time at Seminary Co-op bookstore, signing books and greeting readers on the South Side.

But then she sat for nearly two hours talking with Oprah Winfrey about her eight years living in the White House and her journey from the modest South Shore neighborhood to powerhouse attorney and later the first lady.

In the past, Obama has appeared measured and disciplined when appearing in public, delivering speeches or giving interviews. But during the book tour, she has been outspoken on some issues, including her misgivings about President Donald Trump and her blunt criticism of “Lean In” and Sheryl Sandberg’s view that women should be more assertive in the workplace.

At the United Center, Obama didn’t hold back. “If a memoir is about truth, then I'm telling it,” she said. “Having the opportunity to reflect on one’s life is a luxury. It was absolutely healing for me to look on my life and figure out how all these little stories that seem meaningless” have value, she said.

During her tour, “Becoming” rose to become the best-selling book of 2018 after selling more than 2 million copies in the United States and Canada during the first 15 days of publication.

lbowean@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @lollybowean

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