Few conflicts in the world today provoke such a visceral reaction as that between Israel and Palestine. While bookshelves are well stocked with political and historical analyses of the region and its seemingly intractable difficulties, a growing body of literature is dedicated to grassroots voices struggling with the dynamics of daily life in this deeply divided society.

A strong entry in the latter category is Michael Riordon’s Our Way to Fight, a compelling compendium of first-hand accounts that chronicles modest yet meaningful reconciliation efforts from both sides. Riordon illustrates how everyday people – doctors, lawyers, archeologists, theatre producers, teachers, community organizers, farmers – refuse what they call the “luxury of despair,” choosing instead to chip away at the physical and psychological barriers that prevent peaceful coexistence. Refraining from partisan bashing, Riordon allows space for women who monitor abuses at Israeli military checkpoints, historians trying to preserve original place names in areas bulldozed for illegal settlements, young people jailed for refusing the Israeli military’s call-up, and artists helping youth channel rage into creative outlets.

Each chapter focuses on a group of individuals who have chosen to devote themselves to peaceful protest and social change, detailing their personal histories and how they came to act against the Israeli occupation. What is remarkable about the stories is the consistency of their narrative arc. In such a segregated area, Palestinians and Israelis rarely encounter one another, and it is only when that personal connection is made that they realize they are not so different after all.

Riordan weaves together many disparate strands in a manner that apes the best political organizing: these stories feel like dialogues carried out across kitchen tables and during smoke breaks. He also does a terrific job portraying the ambiguity, constant questioning, and expressions of self-doubt that afflict the figures he profiles: do their good works represent genuine human progress, or do they merely serve to smooth over the rougher edges of the occupation?

Riordan’s portrayal of hope in a time of trouble is inspiring, and reminds us that activism is not magical, but rather a very human response to the conflicts that require people to make difficult moral choices.