In these difficult times it is important to find bits of inspiration to make your day easier and happier. I start each day with reading. While I like to flip through various newspapers and articles, I have found that they often only offer me confusion and discouragement. Instead, I try to go straight to the last book I’m reading. Yesterday I finished Apeirogon by Colum McCann. And I tell you, I was inspired.

Now I read it thinking it’s not fiction. No matter that I said “novel”, it felt like a true story. Two parents, one Palestinian and one Israeli, have each lost a daughter, the first to a rubber bullet fired by an Israeli soldier, the second to a bomb carried by a Palestinian. Every parent (and all the rest of the family) after a bit of healing, had options: Hate? revenge? attacks? depression? reconciliation? I think each parent went through all of these potentials, but eventually each chose reconciliation, finding themselves in a group called Combatants for Peace. The title sounds like it’s placed in juxtaposition, it’s actually a way of finding peace for those who wish to fight.

This book truly sets the reader’s mind in contemplation and wonder. What if everyone everywhere determined ways to get along? That doesn’t mean a silly agreement, but a nurturing conversation, compromise, and forgiveness. It’s possible? Father Rami imagines a world without walls, without lines, without separation, without demarcation, only understanding. I loved this image and many more throughout the book. He gave me hope.

Apeirogon is a geometric figure with an infinite number of discernible sides. The figure may appear to be a circle, but microscopic examination offers the viewer the tiny infinitesimal change that delineates the slight angle of each segment. An apeirogon, just like life, has endless twists, turns, and possibilities. What a path, what a decision, what a way of living… It’s a perfect title for this book that invites reflection and a committed mind.

In the Afterword I was reminded that although the book involved research, many interviews, and much travel, it was ultimately fiction. I was disappointed and a little angry until I went to read my news and found an article about an Israeli who had been arrested and jailed for creating a series of online chat rooms between Israelis and Palestinians designed for open discussion.

These individuals are trying to talk and resolve rather than shoot and kill. This makes peace possible.