ajc

Just in time for her husband’s re-election campaign, our favorite First Lady Michelle Obama has just released a new book about the White House garden entitled “American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America.” As we all know, Mrs. Obama is a proponent of healthy eating and healthy living, and this book not only talks about the garden but how food symbolizes “the lives we lead.”

The $30 book, released Tuesday by Crown Publishers, traces how a city kid from the South Side of Chicago who became a working mother and then a political spouse found herself fretting on that first planting day, March 20, 2009, about whether an L-shaped stretch of soil would prove fertile ground for a national conversation “about the food we eat, the lives we lead, and how all of that affects our children.”

The book also weaves in personal tales about her own family’s history as well as stories related to the experiences of past Presidents.

Thomas Jefferson was obsessed with trying to grow a four-foot-long cucumber. Heiress Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, at 101 now a figure in the John Edwards’ corruption trial, helped redesign the Rose Garden for President John Kennedy.

The first lady is not receiving any payment for her book, and plans to donate all earnings to the National Park Foundation for programs in healthy eating and gardening. Will you be supporting her first attempt at publishing?

More on Madame Noire!

• Things I Learned While Rocking Relaxed Hair, Natural Hair, and No Hair At All
• I’m a Little Uncomfortable With Michelle O’s Love For Beyoncé, Are You?
• Don’t Be a Ratchet Rat: 7 Manners Everyone Should Mind…Or Risk Getting Snapped On
• Haute Hats: When It’s Hot, Keep Your Cool With These 7 Stylish Looksl
• Sheila E. Says Music Healed Wounds From a Traumatic Childhood Incident
• Get Under Your Skin: How To Renew & Maintain Your Skin
• The Hair She Dared to Wear: The Coiffures of Patti Labelle