Traveling to thousand-year-old olive groves, besieged villages, refugee camps, checkpoints, and barracks, Michael Riordon talks with people on both sides of the Israeli?Palestinian conflict who fight violence and war through creative resistance. The region remains a symbol of instability fueled by violence and hatred, and this investigation enters into the heart of the dispute and offers a different perspective. The author uncovers the crises that stirred them to act, the risks they face in working for peace, and the small victories that sustain them. These stories of Israelis who refuse to see Palestinians as enemies and Palestinians who practice nonviolent resistance break all stereotypes. In the face of deepening conflict, this portrait of courageous grassroots action provides hope for a livable future and inspiration to peace activists in all nations.

A Canadian writer and documentary-maker for almost four decades, Michael Riordon generates books and articles, audio, video and film documentaries, and plays for radio and stage. A primary goal of his work is to recover voices of people who have been silenced in the mainstream, written out of the official version.

Michael Riordon teaches writing, and has written four books of oral history: Our Way to Fight: Peace-Work Under Siege in Israel-Palestine, Eating Fire: Family Life on the Queer Side, An Unauthorized Biography of the World, and Out Our Way: Gay and Lesbian Life in Rural Canada. He lives near Picton, Ontario.

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