Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon show that war is naive and peace is pragmatic.
As a new war rages across the Middle East, it’s easy to surrender to the belief that we’ve entered an era of perpetual war—that bombs will always be falling and people will always be suffering somewhere in the world. But in their new book, Palestinian Aziz Abu Sarah and Israeli Maoz Inon insist that the opposite is true: The Future is Peace. This is a book that I am profoundly grateful to get to share with the world and honored to have helped to create.
The universe tells us what books we must work on and grabs us by the collar until we listen. In this case, the universe came in the form of Rabbi Paula Marcus, who told me that I needed to meet Aziz and Maoz. That same year, they opened the conference with one of the most moving, inspiring TED talks I’ve ever heard. Meeting them was a revelation, like discovering two lost brothers. They live their life in brotherhood and possibility in a way few have been able to in their war-torn homeland.
Aziz and Maoz speak from deep experience: both have lost family in the most enduring conflict of our times. But despite their differences, they are steadfast friends with a shared vision for peace and prosperity in the Middle East and around the world.
Peace, they argue, can only begin when we truly understand each other’s stories and histories. In their book, Aziz and Maoz, who are also expert travel guides, take us on an extraordinary and unforgettable eight-day journey into the mythology, politics, and personal discoveries that join these two people and tear them apart.
In showing us the past, present, and future of Israel and Palestine, The Future is Peace is one of the most hopeful books that I have ever read, and it transforms the despair that we accept as reality. The book is out next week on April 14th from Crown.
Here are a few paragraphs from their introduction:
Peacebuilders have been marginalized, both at home and abroad, for far too long. We are used to being dismissed as dreamers and mocked as being naïve. Yet we are realists. We know that bombs will not bring safety, walls will not protect us, and war will not bring freedom to either side. What is truly naive is imagining that fear and multigenerational trauma will lead to security, or that any strategy to end the horror of this conflict can succeed without dreamers and visionaries at the vanguard. We have met with politicians and world leaders to forge a path beyond the tragedy of endless wars, a path that leads to a future grounded in the values of dignity, inclusion, and equality. We have shared our personal stories in houses of worship, virtual town halls and local community centers, on university campuses and in arenas before audiences of thousands. We have been interviewed by countless journalists and media outlets about our shared vision of peace “from the river to the sea.”
At our core we are travelers and guides. Coming from a tourism background, we have a passion for guiding people on transformative journeys, and we have become adept at guiding travelers through conflict zones. We share a conviction that travel is more than just checking off destinations on an itinerary. It is an industry of diplomacy and dialogue—and peacebuilding. We have learned that when it comes to shifting mindsets and creating discourse out of discord, nothing is more powerful or transformative than the experience of stepping out of one’s comfort zone to meet the “other” and truly listening to their story. Between us, we have organized and led thousands of tours across Israel and Palestine. We have witnessed people overcome fear and even hatred by being exposed to those they once considered enemies. The first step on the path to peace is listening to the other side’s story.
If you’re in the area, please join us in person to celebrate the book launch on April 20th at Bookshop Santa Cruz.
In other community news:
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Suzanne Simard’s groundbreaking When the Forest Breathes came out last Tuesday. Read a rave review in The Guardian and a profile in Psyche.
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Ethan Kross discussed the science of emotional regulation on TED Radio Hour.
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On NPR’s Here and Now, Gary Slutkin, author of The End of Violence, explained why violence should be treated as an infectious disease.
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Dr. Jeffrey Rediger, M.D., author of Cured, has a new book with Dr. Lissa Rankin. Relationsick, out in October, shares transformational strategies for ending toxic relationship dynamics.
As for our growing team, I wanted to introduce my new Executive Assistant. Tom Garback (he/him) lives outside of Philadelphia and recently completed an MA in Writing and Publishing at Emerson College. His experience includes independent publicity assistance at Kim-from-LA Literary and Media Services, marketing and sales at Hachette, assisting a bestselling novelist, bookselling at Barnes and Noble’s second-highest-grossing location in Los Angeles, and managing reception and social media in higher ed. Tom is a young industry veteran! Please join us in welcoming him.
With gratitude,
Doug & the IA Team (Alyssa, Elizabeth, Jordan, Kelly, Rebecca, Sarah, Shannon, & Wenonah)