I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times

I can see this book helping estranged parties who are equally invested in bridging a gapit could be assigned reading for fractured families aspiring to a harmonious Thanksgiving dinner." New York Times "Like all skills, these techniques take practice. But anyone who sincerely wants to bridge the gaps in understanding will appreciate this book. Guzmn is emphatic about making an effort to work on difficult conversations." Manhattan Book Review We think we have the answers, but we need to be asking a lot more questions. Journalist Mnica Guzmn is the loving liberal daughter of Mexican immigrants who votedtwicefor Donald Trump. When the country could no longer see straight across the political divide, Mnica set out to find what was blinding us and discovered the most eye-opening tool we're not using: our own built-in curiosity. Partisanship is up, trust is down, and our social media feeds make us sure we're right and everyone else is ignorant (or worse). But avoiding one another is hurting our relationships and our society. In this timely, personal guide, Mnica, the chief storyteller for the national cross-partisan depolarization organization Braver Angels, takes you to the real front lines of a crisis that threatens to grind America to a haltbroken conversations among confounded people. She shows you how to overcome the fear and certainty that surround us to finally do what only seems impossible: understand and even learn from people in your life whose whole worldview is different from or even opposed to yours. Drawing from cross-partisan conversations she's had, organized, or witnessed everywhere from the echo chambers on social media to the wheat fields in Oregon to raw, unfiltered fights with her own family on election night, Mnica shows how you can put your natural sense of wonder to work for you immediately, finding the answers you need by talking with peoplerather than about themand asking the questions you want, curiously. In these pages, you'll learn: * How to ask what you really want to know (even if you're afraid to) * How to grow smarter from even the most tense interactions, online or off * How to cross boundaries and find common groundwith anyone Whether you're left, right, center, or not a fan of labels: If you're ready to fight back against the confusion, heartbreak, and madness of our dangerously divided timesin your own life, at leastMnica's got the tools and fresh, surprising insights to prove that seeing where people are coming from isn't just possible. It's easier than you think.