Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for LIFE UNDERDOVER … then take off on your own:
1. How did Amaryllis's childhood experiences and family life prepare her for life as a spy? Take into account the family's yearly moves, the secrets within her parents' marriage, and her genius, older brother—what role did each of those factors play?
2. Her best friends' death in the downing of the Pan Am flight had a powerful impact on Fox's life. Her father offered his eight-year-old daughter this response: "You have to understand the forces that took her. It will seem less scary if you do." What do you think of that advice? How would you have responded in his stead?
3. Even before she begins college, Fox strikes out on a mission, heading to Thailand and Burma to volunteer in a refugee camp and, later, to work for an underground newspaper. What enables someone so young—or a person of any age, really—to act with such idealism and courage? How do you account for such determination?
4. What were some of the greatest challenges in Fox's life as an undercover agent? Consider the physical danger inherent in covert operations, as well as the emotional toll it took on her.
5. (Follow-up to Question 4) Ultimately, what prompted her decision to leave the agency? What price did she realize she had paid after a decade of undercover work?
6. Finally, what lessons did Fox take away from her undercover work?
7. How does Amaryllis Fox's memoir compare with the HBO series Homeland?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online and off, with attribution. Thanks.)
Life Undercover (Fox) - Discussion Questions
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