I love the idea of this, of opposing sides coming together for conversation rather than debate, of valuing the relationship more than winning. So many of the things Holland and Silvers said in the first third of the book that I read were quite true, even inspiring. But honestly, they are saying what I already intuitively know: we have a real situation with how polarized things are right now, and if anything is to improve, we need to listen with compassion and open-mindedness instead of self-righteousness and assuming the worst, and that most of us need to be more informed of the facts in general but it's tough to do that when most of the information reaching our ears is from pundits.

"Empathy does not equal endorsement."

"Judas both made a terrible mistake and remains beloved. Judas is both sinner and child of God just as we are." I'm with you when you say that I can value the sanctity of life AND value a woman and her body, but I'm not sure I agree on your theology there.