Lewes author Bill Newcott's new book, “Divided We Stand: A Road Trip in Search of the Ties That Bind Ordinary Americans ... No Matter What,” will be released Tuesday, June 9. 

As part of a nationwide publicity tour, Newcott will appear at 5 p.m., Thurdsay, July 23, at the Lewes Public Library. 

Wondering whether there is hope for a hopelessly divided America, Newcott spent nearly two years crisscrossing the U.S., speaking with people from all points of the political spectrum. He came back with an encouraging verdict: Despite their often-bitter differences, Americans still long to find touch points with each other.

“I honestly didn’t know what I would learn when I started out on this project,” said Newcott. “I was honestly prepared to write a very different book. But everywhere I went – and I mean everywhere, from the deep South to the Northeast – people told me over and over, ‘We want to connect with everybody.’”

In Michigan, Newcott found pro-life and pro-choice activists joining forces to fashion a maternal and newborn health initiative. In Tennessee, while the state legislature was in stalemate over gun policy, folks on both sides of the gun-control issue devised a list of reforms they could all enthusiastically support. In Arizona, conservatives and liberals linked arms to preserve a fragile desertscape from a new interstate highway.

And in Sussex County, Delaware, after every statewide election, former campaign foes gather at Georgetown to bury the hatchet – literally – in the name of unity.

“Most importantly, while these people never surrendered their most deeply held convictions, they embraced their common humanity. Many of them even became lifelong friends,” said Newcott.