Living in the White House as first lady was comparable to living in a really nice prison, Michelle Obama said.
The anecdote was one of several shared Monday by Faith Weber at the Iola Sorosis Club meeting, held in Nancy Lassmans home with 10 regular and four associate members.
Weber, who co-hosted the meeting with Lassman, gave the program on First Women: The Grace and Power of Americas Modern First Ladies, by Kate Anderson Brower.
Weber reported: From Jackie Kennedy to Michelle Obama, each first lady has carved out her own path, all while raising her children, serving as her husbands greatest protector and negotiating the relationship between her staff in the East Wing and her husbands advisers in the West Wing, Brower wrote.
Adding to this is the constant fear these women shared for their husbands safety. As Obama noted, not all were happy about it.
Lady Bird Johnson remembered all too well the turmoil of becoming first lady following President Kennedys assassination, and moving into a White House still in mourning.
Hillary Clinton became the only first lady to also run for elective office. She was elected senator before later becoming secretary of state before her presidential campaign.
While her husband was president from 2009 to 2017, Obama led the Lets Move campaign to combat childhood obesity. She noted that moving to the White House marked the first time since her children were born that the Obamas were able to gather as a family nearly every night.
The book was updated to include information about Melania Trump, who sought to become a traditional first lady in the mold of Betty Ford or Jackie Kennedy. Trump fiercely guards her privacy, and the privacy of her young son, Barron, and has spoken out about working with charities and combating cyber bullying, Weber reported.
Mary Kay Heard will host the Nov. 11 meeting at 1:30 p.m. Co-hosting will be Suzanne Munzesheimer.
