UNDAUNTED: Surviving Jonestown, Summoning Courage, and Fighting Back, by U.S. Congresswoman Jackie Speier, will be published on November 6, 2018—nearly 40 years after the Jonestown massacre that changed her life. UNDAUNTED shares the personal struggles—as a widow, a mother, and an outspoken victim of gun violence—that have shaped Congresswoman Speier’s unwavering dedication to her constituents and to fighting waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption.

In 1978, 28-year-old Jackie Speier was a congressional legal adviser and was part of the fateful delegation to investigate cult leader Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple in Jonestown, Guyana. While helping victims to escape, the delegation was ambushed on the tarmac and Jackie was shot five times at point-blank range. Her injuries were near-fatal, and after 22 hours in a cargo hold, she was miraculously rescued and brought home to the United States to embark on a long and harrowing recovery. Her experiences inspired her work in public service, and in 2008 she eventually won her own congressional seat. But her path was not without significant challenges, as Speier recounts in UNDAUNTED. Despite ongoing health struggles stemming from the shooting, and personal tragedies including the loss of her husband while she was pregnant with her second child, Speier continues to blaze an unparalleled path in regional and national politics.

A passionate champion for women’s and children’s rights, Speier was the first member of Congress to advocate for reforms to end the epidemic of sexual assault in the military and on college campuses, earning her a spot on Newsweek’s list of 150 “Fearless Women” in the world. In November 2017, Congresswoman Speier coauthored the #MeTooCongress Act to overhaul how sexual harassment and assault are reported and mediated on Capitol Hill, and in 2018 she was named one of “Politico’s 50” for these efforts.