Michelle Obama begins her book with a story about making cheese toast on a quiet night at home, a few months after leaving the White House. Why do you think she chose this story to begin her memoir?

Michelle Obama begins her book with a story about making cheese toast on a quiet night at home, a few months after leaving the White House. Why do you think she chose this story to begin her memoir?

I think that Mrs. Obama shows us the cause and effect in her life. When she was in the White House, she was waited on, handed a dish. Now, she is able to "be" a normal person, get her own dish, making her own cheese toast, going barefoot and sitting outside in calm and peace. She mentions how formal and less private it was in the Whitehouse, and this excerpt gives us an excellent example of how she lived in the White House and in the present.

I think Michelle Obama is a big believer in gratitude and in counting her blessings. While the lavish White House lifestyle had much to offer, I think down deep, she truly appreciates and prefers life's simpler pleasures.

In the White House, she was unable to do these simple things for herself so although we might not think twice about doing these little day to day things, for her it was a luxury.

She set the stage for us. Here we are, in a quiet house, alone and free and Michelle is going to in the silence and peace start to tell us about what brought her to this place of solitude . Sit down, take a bite and come back with me to where it all started.

Mrs. Obama sets the table for us, so to speak, with a simple dish we can all relate to. A comfort food. A simple food. And her life is now back to the simple acts, the simple comforts. And I think she is oh, so glad to be there.

I also believe that Mrs. Obama was showing us the very different life she is leading now compared to life in the White House, and how she is grateful for the life as First lady as well as her life post White House. She now has the quiet to put down her thoughts and memories - something it would have been difficult to do before .

I think she wanted us to understand the real Michelle. It was a great way to start and then lead into her growing years, which showed the roots that she came from.

I agree with all the responses - I think she wanted to set an informal tone that would put her on the same level as most of the people that would be reading her book. What an incredible story she has to tell!

Cheese toast is one of those comfort foods and I think she was setting a tone for her book. She wanted us to feel comfortable as she set about telling us the story of how she came to this place in her life.

I think she began the book with this incident as a contrast to what will follow or what did follow in the book. It piqued my interest.

I think she was reflecting on how her life was going back to normal after the White House experience. I think she regards the level of privacy and freedom she has now as a gift. She is grateful for all her experiences in the White House but she also likes having a more private life with her family.

This was a time to reflect on her new life—the beginning of a change of pace, a time to now be out of the public limelight, and a chance to again find her own personal calling.

The quiet and reflective tone sets the stage for the unfolding of her memories.

I really loved the quiet tone and the simple pleasure she takes from being able to go outside and make cheese toast for herself - and it begins at the end of her years in the White House - and sets the stage for her journey. This is such an inspiring journey and her reflective tone at the beginning of the book is just right.

I think by beginning with this simple statement, Michelle was happy to be out of the public eye and enjoy the simple pleasures of life. It also reveals that she is a level-headed person without airs or expectations of privilege.