The book is structured chronologically, though themes and parts of the narrative are recursive. You will often find yourself flipping through the text to remind yourself of references, people’s names, and events that Obama refers to first in the early sections of the book, and returns to later. The timeline and study questions included on this website may help you in this regard. 
The Three Rivers Press 2005 edition of the book that you were given for the 2009/10 Common Reading starts with the Preface to the Second Edition, written in 2004, just after Obama won the nomination to run as the Democratic candidate in the 2004 Illinois Senatorial race. In the Preface, Obama brings us up to date on events in his life that occurred after the first edition was published in 1995, and briefly describes changes he would make to the book if he were writing it again. The Preface is followed by the text as originally published in 1995. In the Introduction, Obama describes the purposes of the book and his approach to writing it, providing insights into the text which will be helpful to you as you read. The Introduction is followed by three main sections, each of which is divided into chapters, and an Epilogue. The Introduction, three sections (“Origins,” “Chicago,” “Kenya”) and the Epilogue composed the first edition.
In “Origins,” Obama writes of his early years in Hawaii where he was born, describes his three years in Indonesia from ages six to nine years old, and discusses his life upon his return to Hawaii for the remainder of his middle school and high school years. The narrative then moves to California for Obama’s first two years of college and ends with the years he spent in New York where he finished his undergraduate degree at Columbia University and began to work as a community organizer. The second section, “Chicago,” takes us more deeply into his work as a community organizer. In the third section, “Kenya,” Obama recounts his travels back to the land of his father and his reunion with his father’s family. This journey helps him to reach a greater understanding of his own identity, and of world events.
In the final section of the original edition, “Epilogue,” Obama writes about his return from Kenya to the United States. He tells us what happened to some of the characters who figure so largely in his life. He also provides a glimpse of his wedding day to show the ways in which the various parts of his life come together.
You are reading the second edition of the book, published in 2004, just after he was nominated to run for his first term as Senator of Illinois, an election he subsequently won. The very last section of the second edition is an excerpt from the first chapter of his second book, Audacity of Hope, which will give you some insights into the development of Obama’s thinking about politics and the world we live in. If you want to learn more about our current President, how he thinks about world events, politics, and domestic and international policy, we suggest that you read Audacity of Hope.