Undaunted (Speier) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers Book Club Resources. They can help with discussions for any book:

1. How would you describe Jackie Speier? Do you find her admirable, inspiring..."undaunted"?

2. How did the Jonestown shooting and consequent months of recovery affect Speier? How do you think you might have responded to those events?

3. How familiar were you before reading Speier's memoir with the Jonestown cult and subsequent massacre? What are your thoughts on cults, like that on Jim Jones.

4. How might Speier's childhood have prepared her, or at least given her the strength, to survive the Jonestown tragedy and to persevere in spite of it all? Talk, also, about her Catholic schooling and the influence it had on her life's direction.

5. Her high school years were fairly impressive: working part-time for the Red Cross and with then California Assemblyman Ryan.

6. Reader/reviewers describe Jackie Speier as a leader. How would you define "leadership" and what qualities does Speier possess that would make her a leader?

7. Speier wanted to break the feminine mold she grew up with (the 1950s-60s-70s). What was expected of young women during those years, what were the stereotypes she went up against? Talk about the steps Speier took to establish herself as both a feminist and champion of women's causes.

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online and off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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