I entered a sweeps for this book because it was written for me: I’m one of those people avoiding Facebook because people I love dearly are expressing views I disagree with, and I’m afraid to have a confrontation that might devolve to yelling and loss—even if it’s virtual. I’m upset to see the same kind of unrest I grew up with in the 1970s repeating. I know the media is highlighting extremists to sell stuff, but I sputter into incoherence when talking politics—so how do I find out the reasons my neighbors might have for voting for platforms that seem deeply dangerous (to me)? I need help. The psychologist author advocates dialogue as the route to cross the divide, rather than debate or even civil discourse; that sounds doable, even for introverts. It’s worth the wade through stilted prose to read this book; it’s also a refresher on your freshman speech class. Using cousins Kevin the liberal and Celine the conservative, whose kids want them to socialize again, the author walks you through careful conversations. Aside from the clunky suggested scripts, the principles are sound, and it’s full of further resources. The first thing the author asks you to do is figure out your motivations for talking. Discourse is proving your point, debate is for conversion, but dialogue means listening and understanding. We all want the other guy to switch to our way of thinking, but that’s not realistic or useful. One party or another is going to prevail and the rest of us have to deal, so I really do want to find common ground and understanding of others—even if we do agree to disagree. That might be the true definition of democracy, after all. What I found most immediately helpful in this book were two charts: one that shows the Miserable Majority, where studies find that only 33% of us are extremists, and the other 66% of us really do just want to get along; the other shows the moral underpinnings of conservatives and liberals—and everyone I know uses both sides of this chart that references loyalty, respect, justice, and compassion. I have more hope for our country after reading this book. If I’m not quite ready to have a dialogue yet, I’m ready for the work.