Jackie Speier has not let difficult challenges stop her in her life. As a young mother of three children, I watched in horror the coverage of Jim Jones and what happened at Jonestown. As a young assistant to Congressman Leo Ryan, she accompanied him on this trip and was shot five times. She did not let this stop her commitment to public service. I enjoyed learning more about her and admire the work she has done.

I was initially drawn to the story because of the connection to Jonestown. Jackie Speier was one of the victims of Jim Jones' rampage at the Guyana airport - her boss, Congressman Leo Ryan, was killed during the attack. Although this was probably the most memoir-worthy aspect of her life, Speier has also had a successful career as a congresswoman and continues to fight for policies that affect all US citizens (including gun control and military sexual assaults). This book is written really straightforward with a focus on Speier's ambition and her determination to keep going despite adversity. Although the memoir starts off uneventfully, the attempt on her life and her recovery from five gunshot wounds is by far the most fascinating part of the book, followed by personal tragedies (such as multiple miscarriages and the deaths of several loved ones). I'd recommend this book to anyone who needs a little inspiration to keep fighting in their own life.

A very interesting look at Jonestown by a woman who had been part of the delegation sent to rescue the cult members. She went on to have quite a career as a congressperson and had a lot of insight into not only Jonestown but into politics and even everyday life. An amazing tale of resilience.

This review is going to be a bit tough. Even though I enjoyed, if enjoyed is the proper word, how she survived Jonestown, this book is way more than that. Yes, she did survive Jonestown and Jim Jones. What happened to her was awful. However, I feel that the title leads you to believe she was part of the cult. She wasn’t. In the beginning she talks about what led her to be there with Jim Jones. It pretty much starts when she is in high school. After the intense story telling of Jonestown. Hearing the story that we never hear about was very interesting. After it is all said and done and she has fully recuperated she goes into her political agenda. I feel like half the book was her trying to promote herself. She has endured a lot in her life and experienced a lot of awful things. But, she could have saved a lot of things for a second book. I’m torn on how I feel so I will give this 3 stars.

I was attracted to Jackie Speier's memoir because she was a survivor of Jonestown. But her story is much bigger than that one instance.
A presentative from the 14th District in California, Speier grew up with out extravagance but learned hard work from her family. She got into politics at an early age but always saw herself as someone who helped others reach their potential. Serving as a staffer for Congressman Leo Ryan, she was part of a delegation that visited Jonestown and was ambushed. Ryan was killed and Speier was shot five times and miracoulsy survived. That experience taught her to not give up, not to give in and die. That is how she survived 22 hours with hospital after being shot; she had the will to live and help people. Speier was motivated to change the lives of others. Since then she worked on regulations in California including promoting women's rights and needs. To this day she continues to fight for ideals and laws that will make people's lives better.
I was so moved by this book. I felt guilty for just seeing her as a Jonestown survivor. She is so much more. She is a powerful women within her own right and I respect her for it.

2.5 stars

Jackie Speier is a remarkable woman with a great story to tell. However, this memoir does not do her story justice.

The book was shoddily put together and felt like an extended wikipedia article about a woman's life rather than a personal memoir. It read as if the author dictated the main points of her story on a tape recorder and then handed it over to an intern to piece together.

It jumps around from event to event with little to no reflection, as if the author is in a hurry to get through the highlights of her life. Then, the last 50 or so pages turn into her political platform - which felt as if she ran through her life and had 50 pages to fill so she filled them with her campaign pamphlets.

There were only two points in this book where that felt like a memoir - 1) the aftermath of the Jonestown attack and 2) when her first husband died. Those were the only moments in the book where she showed her human side. The rest of it was like a clinical accounting of her life from one moment to the next.

The memoir lacks focus and jumps around too much. It also feels dictated rather than written so there are a lot of figures of speech and clunky writing (including jumping from present to past tense or vice versa within one sentence).

I think Jackie has a great story to tell but this memoir is too sloppy for me to recommend to anyone. However, I think she would be great at giving inspirational TED Talks.

I received a copy of a digital review copy from the publisher via net galley for review. Perhaps the finished copy is a bit more polished than the one I read (although, it would need a complete overhaul for me to recommend it).

The author wrote of struggles that I cannot imagine surviving, let alone thriving after. I was inspired reading about how she was able to pick up the pieces of her life after such a tragedy. This was an emotional and interesting read.

Jackie Spiers is a true woman of courage ,Jackie has faced incredibly traumatic situations a true survivor.As a Congresswoman she stands up for our rights fights the good fight.Loved reading about her life.#netgalley#Undaunted #littleA

In the late 1960's Jackie Speier (pronounced SPEAR) began working on weekends, summers and after school as a volunteer in the re-election campaign of California politician Leo Ryan, as well as volunteering with the American Red Cross while she was still in high school. She continued working as an aide for and with Ryan through college and law school, taking on a paycheck and more and more complex projects. After law school, she took a position as Ryan's legislative council and moved to DC.

On November 14th, 1978 Jackie accompanied Ryan along with several of his aides, newsmedia and concerned family members of Jones' followers as they flew to Guyana to assess the situation in Jonestown and, if needed, to rescue those trying to escape the influence of cult leader Jim Jones and his People's Temple in Jonestown, Guyana. Things did not go as planned. On November 18th as they began gearing up to leave Guyana with a growing crowd of cultists wanting to return to the US, Ryan was shot and killed on the airport runway with over forty bullets in his body. Jackie took five. Jonestown became one of the most tragic genocides in modern times, with over 900 dead. And Jackie, who lay on the tarmac at the airport for over 20 hours before rescue, had an unthinkable battle to face, with nerve damage to her right arm and hand, a chunk missing from her right leg, and gangrene in all five of her wounds. After skin grafts and several surgeries, she spent weeks in the hospital and had lots of time to decide where her future lay. And it lay in serving the public, and never again becoming a victim.

She first served in the California State Assembly before following in the footsteps of Congressman Ryan. She is still working in Congress, representing California Congressional District 14 and women everywhere.

Jackie Speier has a loud voice in Washington DC. She fights, undaunted, for women's rights, consumer safety, and personal privacy. She brings to DC her varied life experiences. Jackie is a wife, a mother, a widow, a woman who has had to face personal adversity. She comes from a long line of strong women. On her mother's side she is the great granddaughter of victim's of the Armenian genocide, her mother was born in California the third of six children of immigrant Armenians. Her father flew in World War II for Germany, trekked across Russia and worked as a medic in China before landing in San Francisco and then bringing his mother over from Shanghai, where his parents - Catholic mother, Jewish father - had fled at the outbreak of WWII, to California. Grandmother Speier was Jackie's lodestone. As the daughter of California residents who pulled themselves up by their bootstraps into the middle class, she is an American. And she speaks forcefully and with great heart for all women in America.

I received a free electronic copy of this memoir from Netgalley, Jackie Speier, and Little A Publishers in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

Jackie Speier is a remarkable woman, and had an impressive life story. She overcame many challenges, and the biggest one was the fight for her life after being shot multiple times when visiting Jim Jone's cult temple.

However, and after reading 56% I just could not go any longer. If you are keen to know about the ins and outs of campaigning and american elections, then you might enjoy this book. But after some time it just got boring and descriptive. Even though the life is inspiring, and the events were interesting, there was no spark in the writing, nothing to keep me going on.

But don't let my review deter you from reading, as she is indeed an amazing woman.