Non­fic­tion

Lost and Found in Spain: Tales of An Ambas­sador’s Wife

Susan Solomont
January 1, 2013

When her hus­band was appoint­ed by Pres­i­dent Barack Oba­ma to be U.S. Ambas­sador to Spain and Andor­ra, Susan Solomont uproot­ed her­self. She left her career, her friends, fam­i­ly, and a life she loved to join her hus­band for a three-and-a-half-year tour over­seas. Part mem­oir and part trav­el­ogue, Solomont learns the rules of a diplo­mat­ic house­hold; goes on a culi­nary adven­ture with some of Spain’s great­est chefs; finds her place in the Madrid Jew­ish com­mu­ni­ty; and dis­cov­ers her own voice to cre­ate new mean­ing in her role as a spouse a com­mu­ni­ty mem­ber and a 21st cen­tu­ry woman.

spain

Discussion Questions

Cour­tesy of Susan Solomont

  1. Dis­cuss the title Lost and Found in Spain. How was Susan lost? How was Susan found? Have you ever felt this way and if so, how?

  2. Com­pare Susan’s child­hood in Brook­lyn with how Span­ish fam­i­lies spend time togeth­er. Are your fam­i­lies like this? How have fam­i­ly dynam­ics in the US changed over the years? What is your dynam­ic with your fam­i­ly of ori­gin and your cur­rent family?

  3. Com­pare Susan’s child­hood in Brook­lyn with how Span­ish fam­i­lies spend time togeth­er. Are your fam­i­lies like this? How have fam­i­ly dynam­ics in the US changed over the years? What is your dynam­ic with your fam­i­ly of ori­gin and your cur­rent family?

  4. Have you ever moved? Did you encounter any of the same prob­lems she did when she moved to Spain? How did you deal with them?

  5. What role did the Embassy staff play in Susan’s find­ing mean­ing­ful work? How did they help her? What obsta­cles stood in her way?

  6. Susan dis­cuss­es Amer­i­can val­ues she and her hus­band shared with the Embassy and Span­ish com­mu­ni­ties. What val­ues do you think they shared with Span­ish people?

  7. Span­ish women were not very open about feel­ings and their lives? Why do you think this is so? Why did Cristi­na open up to Susan? How is this sim­i­lar to your friendships?

  8. Some say Susan should have been hon­ored to serve as an Ambassador’s spouse and have been grate­ful just to be in this role. Do you agree that she should have just accept­ed the role and if so why? And if not, why?

  9. Susan ulti­mate­ly fell in love with Spain and con­nect­ed deeply to her role as ​“spouse.” What hap­pened to allow this change to occur?

  10. At the end of the book Susan writes, ​“I no longer define myself by my work or tra­di­tion­al labels.” What does this mean to you?


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