Hands Across the Hills: A Grassroots Project to Bridge America’s Political Divide
The Hands Across the Hills dialogue and cultural exchange project was created in the aftermath of the 2016 election by residents of Letcher County, Kentucky and Leverett, Massachusetts, who came together to understand each other. The project was covered by national and international media including The New York Times, The New Yorker, Boston Globe, Arte TV in Europe and newspapers in Amsterdam and Tokyo.
This 200+ page book, illustrated with photos, offers unique insight into the six-year journey of Hands Across the Hills in the words of participants and observers. It tells the story of how the communities met, how exchange visits were planned, how people in both places experienced them, and how they spoke and wrote about issues such as guns, coal, vaccination, elections and class. Included are original interviews, dialogue excerpts and written reflections as well as robust local media coverage chronicling the project from its start in 2017 to its conclusion in 2023. In addition, the book offers 40 pages of hands-on training materials in dialogue facilitation and cultural organizing, for people interested in learning how this work was done and how it can be done again.
Softcover, iIlustrated with 175 b&w photographs
We are taking preorders through Nov 20, 2024—books to be shipped in early December
