Conversations
As I was writing America Found, I knew I wanted it to be more than a book.
I didn't write it for vanity, or simply to have a book with my name on the cover. I wrote it to share an extraordinary adventure—and to share what I discovered along the way.
Most of all, I wanted people to know that there is reason for hope.
During six years of traveling across America, I met hundreds of people from remarkably different backgrounds. I listened to their stories, sat at their kitchen tables, shared meals, and sometimes simply stood beside them and listened.
What I discovered was not a country as divided as we are often led to believe.
I discovered people who, despite their differences, still want many of the same things: to live in peace, to be heard, to be respected, and to belong.
Conversationsis an extension of that journey.
It is a growing, multi-platform effort to create places where people can step away from the noise, listen to one another, and discover what becomes possible when we stop talking at each other and begin talking with each other.
25 minutes + open conversation
A short presentation followed by an open conversation in a safe, welcoming environment.
Living Room Conversations explores how we, as individuals and as communities, can begin to move beyond the anger, fear, and divisiveness that have become so familiar—and rediscover the power of simply listening to one another.
Approximately 30 minutes
The book talk.
America Found is more than a discussion of the finished book. It is a look behind the pages and into the adventure, curiosity, questions, failures, discoveries, and unexpected encounters that brought the book to life.
It is an invitation to come along and see America through the eyes of someone who spent six years asking questions—and listening to the answers.
Finding America One Conversation at a Time
The full-length presentation
Run time: Approximately one hour
This is the larger story behind America Found.
It is the story of six years and more than 350,000 miles spent crisscrossing America in search of answers to a deceptively simple question:
Who are we?
Along the way, I discovered that the answers weren't found in Washington, on television, or in the endless arguments taking place online.
They were found in conversations.
At kitchen tables. In diners. On front porches. Along back roads. In places I never intended to visit, with people I never expected to meet.
The Long Way Around is an invitation to come with me on that journey—and to discover what I learned about America, about listening, and about ourselves along the way.