Linz Defranco

Georgia girl living in LA. Recovering Mommy Vlogger. Co-Founder of https://t.co/6wfpuq0hAy, a Media Literacy campaign.

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Book Recommendations:

LD

Recommended by Linz Defranco

This book is really really good. Had to force myself to go to sleep last night. Woke up early to finish. @amaryllisfox is a great writer with an even better story. https://t.co/393b9tUHYm (from X)

Amaryllis Fox's riveting memoir tells the story of her ten years in the most elite clandestine ops unit of the CIA, hunting the world's most dangerous terrorists in sixteen countries while fall in love and giving birth to a daughter. Amaryllis Fox was in her last year as an undergraduate at Oxford studying ancient languages and theoretical physics when her writing mentor, Daniel Pearl, was captured and beheaded. Galvanized by this brutality, she applied to a Master's program in conflict and terrorism at Georgetown's School of Foreign Service, where she created an algorithm that predicted, with uncanny certainty, the likelihood of a terrorist cell arising in any village around the world. At 21, she was recruited by the CIA. Her first assignment was reading and analyzing hundreds of classified cables a day from foreign governments and synthesizing them into daily briefs for the President. Her next assignment was at the Iraq desk in the Counterterrorism center. At 22, she was fast-tracked into advanced operations training, sent from Langley to "the Farm," where she lived for six months in a simulated world learning how to use a glock, how to get out of flexicuffs while locked in the trunk of a car, how to withstand torture, and the best ways to commit suicide in case of captivity. At the end of this training she was deployed as a spy under non-official cover--the most difficult and coveted job in the field--as an art dealer specializing in tribal and Indigenous art, and sent to infiltrate terrorist networks in remote areas of the Middle East and Asia. Life Undercover is exhilarating, intimate, fiercely intelligent--an impossible-to-put-down record of an extraordinary life, and of Amaryllis Fox's astonishing courage and passion.

LD

Recommended by Linz Defranco

I really enjoy this book. Puts a lot into perspective. Quick, easy, and impactful read. (There are some religious undertones, which I don’t really care for, BUT they do not distract from the message and aren’t too overwhelming) https://t.co/VAjegv4uAJ (from X)

More than ever, politics seem to be driven by discord. People sitting together in pews every Sunday feel like strangers and loved ones at the dinner table feel like enemies. Toxic political dialogue, hate-filled rants on social media, and agenda-driven news stories have become the new norm. But it doesn't have to be this way. In I Think You're Wrong (But I'm Listening), two working moms from opposite ends of the political spectrum teach us that politics don't have to divide us. Instead, we can bring the same care and respect to policy discussions that we bring to the rest of our lives. Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers, co-hosts of Pantsuit Politics, recently named an Apple Podcasts Show of the Year, give you all of the tools you need to: Respect the dignity of every personRecognize that issues are nuanced and can't be reduced to political talking pointsListen in order to understandLead with grace and patienceJoin Sarah from the left and Beth from the right as they teach you that people from opposing political perspectives truly can have calm, grace-­filled conversations with one another. Praise for I Think You're Wrong (But I'm Listening): "Sarah and Beth are an absolute gift to our culture right now. Not only do they offer balanced perspectives from each political ideology, but they teach us how to dialogue well, without sacri­ficing our humanity." --Jen Hatmaker, New York Times bestselling author and speaker "Sarah from the left and Beth from the right serve as our guides through conflict and complexity, delivering us into connection. I wish every person living in the United States would read this compelling book, from the youngest voter to those holding the highest office." --Emily P. Freeman, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Next Right Thing