Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Liza Mundy also wrote Code Girls, which detailed the work of female codebreakers during World War II. If you’ve read it, how did you find the transition from that story to the world of Cold War and counterterrorism espionage in The Sisterhood?

2. Did the prologue, with Heidi August’s vow over the body of Scarlett Rogenkamp, effectively frame the book for you? How did August’s personal promise set the stakes for the institutional and political battles that followed?

3. What was your experience reading a story that spans multiple generations, from the OSS in the 1940s to the post-9/11 era? Did you find it inspiring, overwhelming, or something else entirely? Why?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. The book details the “old-boy network” and its resistance to change. When have you encountered a culture where an informal network or unwritten rules determined status and progression? How did you react?

2. Mundy contrasts figures like Eloise Page with women like Heidi August and Mary Margaret Graham, who actively mentored the next generation. Who has mentored you and what was so special about the support they offered?

3. The concept of “housewife cover” relied on using low social status as an operational advantage. Think of a time when being underestimated or overlooked gave you a unique perspective or advantage. How did you feel about this?

4. Analysts like Cindy Storer and Gina Bennett spent years trying to get their warnings about al-Qaeda heard, only to be dismissed. Consider a time when you have ignored or overlooked someone else’s warnings or concerns and later found you were wrong. What did you learn?

5. Mundy explores the ways in which women in particular are obliged to make choices between career and family life. In what ways have these choices shaped your own path, and to what extent have you felt constrained by circumstances outside your control?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. The guide mentions that the lawsuits brought by Janine Brookner and others coincided with a national reckoning over sexual harassment sparked by Anita Hill’s testimony. In what ways did the fight for equality inside the CIA mirror the broader feminist movements happening in the country at the time?

2. How does the book handle the CIA’s controversial enhanced interrogation program? How does the deep division on this issue inform Mundy’s examination of the “sisterhood”?

3. In the epilogue, Gina Bennett concludes that the greatest threat to America has become domestic extremism, not foreign terrorism. Do you agree? Say why or why not, drawing on evidence from current political affairs.

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. The narrative frequently contrasts the careers of Heidi August, who rose from a clerk position, and Lisa Manfull Harper, the Ivy League-educated diplomat’s daughter. What effect does this have on the book’s overall presentation of a collective female experience?

2. What is the significance of physical space in the book? How does Mundy use location to symbolize women’s marginalization and their contributions?

3. In what ways does The Sisterhood draw on spy tropes in narratives such as John le Carré’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy? What effects do these have on the reading experience and meanings?

4. Analyze how Mundy weaves detailed personal accounts into the factual history of major global events like the Cold War, 9/11, and the hunt for bin Laden. How successful is this combination in your opinion, and why?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Choose the woman whose experiences or account most resonated with you. Write a letter to her, explaining what her story has meant to you and why.

2. The epilogue notes that a statue of Harriet Tubman now stands at CIA headquarters. If you were commissioned to design a memorial specifically honoring the “sisterhood” described in this book, what would it look like and what story would it tell?

3. Near the end of the book, we learn that Cindy Storer, Barbara Sude, and Susan Hasler considered writing a group memoir but were too frustrated by the self-serving accounts of their male superiors. Drawing on their personalities and experiences, write a scene where these women collaborate on planning this book. How would they treat each other and what would the dynamic be?