How Michelle Obama landed a Grammy nomination

Grew a green thumb

When her family took up residence in the White House after her husband’s election in 2009, Michelle Obama set her sights on the sprawling compound’s South Lawn. It was there she would plant a garden filled with all manner of fruit, veggies and herbs. Little did she know when she first dipped her fingers in the soft soil, the garden would come to transcend merely the food she cooked for her own family. As her green thumb grew, so did the First Lady’s passion about the impact of the food children all over the country are fed. She began publicly tackling the topic, finding many people — particularly parents — craved more information on the subject.

Traded in her spade

To keep the dialogue about fresh food going, Michelle put down her shovel and gloves — or gave them a break, rather — and picked up a pen. Her inaugural book, American Grown, sprouted soon after. In the tome, the First Lady offers insight into her own experience as a budding (pun intended) gardener, cataloguing everything from her nervousness over the plants’ well-being to her joy when fresh greens break through undisturbed dirt. And, for those voyeuristic readers who want to know what the First Family eats, Michelle includes garden-to-table recipes concocted by White House chefs. She doesn’t stop digging there, however... she poignantly tells the stories of gardens across the country that have inspired her, such as one in North Carolina that donates its bounty to those in need.

Read out loud

In the library, reading out loud gets you looks of reproach from the stern librarian. In the Grammy world, it gets you a nomination for Best Spoken Word Album. At least it does if you are Michelle Obama. Or her husband, for that matter — President Obama won the category in both 2006 and 2008 for his books “Dreams from My Father” and “The Audacity of Hope,” respectively. Michelle’s book, like her husband’s before her, is meant to elicit conversation. As Michelle told People magazine, she hopes her Grammy nomination for American Grown will sustain “the conversation going about how we can all work together to ensure a healthy future for all of our nation’s children.”

More on the Grammy Awards

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Grammy nominees: A faint glimmer of hope on the horizon?
Justin Timberlake will perform at the Grammys

Image courtesy of Carrie Devorah/WENN.com