LEVERETT — A project featuring events and dialogues bringing together western Massachusetts progressives and residents with more conservative views from eastern Kentucky, gaining both national and international attention over the course of seven years, is being chronicled in a new book.

“Hands Across the Hills: A Grassroots Project to Bridge America’s Political Divide,” written by local reporter Richie Davis, based on his firsthand knowledge, and many other Hands Across the Hills participants, is being formally released during an event at the Leverett Library, 75 Montague Road, on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Among those featured in the book is the late Paula Green, of Leverett, who founded the Karuna Center for Peacebuilding and who brought expertise in conflict in places like Rwanda, Bosnia and the Middle East. Davis writes that she “spent more than 25 years bridging differences around the world.” Green’s idea was to offer an immersive experience with dialogue circles, homestays, art and music for participants.

Davis, of the Greenfield Recorder, received a grant from the Pulitzer Center to cover Hands Across the Hills, writing 24 articles and visiting Kentucky with Leverett residents. The group originally formed in 2017 after Republican Donald Trump won his first term in the White House by defeating Hillary Clinton, the Democratic former secretary of state.

The book explores how people from Letcher County, known as Kentucky coal country, became bonded with people from Leverett to find common ground beyond politics. The book includes primary documents, first-person reflections, and original analysis from participants, as well as 40 pages of training materials for dialogue facilitation and cultural organizing.

“I can see better by the light in your eyes” is a line from the theme song written for the Kentucky members of Hands Across the Hills when they first arrived in Leverett eight years ago. Participants took their bond seriously, when a deadly flood hit eastern Kentucky, and Leverett residents organized Bands Across the Hills at Leverett Crafts and Arts, raising $10,000 for relief.

The group earned acclaim in 2018 when a U.S. Peacebuilding Award of Excellence came from the Alliance for Peacebuilding in Washington D.C.

The book, featuring 175 photos, as well as essays, articles and candid quotes, is available for free as a flip book or PDF at handsacrossthehills.org. Hard copies are also on loan at the Leverett Library and some copies will be for sale at Saturday’s event.

The book release will be in a hybrid format, with an in-person reading from the book, along with conversations with Kentucky participants via Zoom. People interested in getting a link to view online should send email to leverettlibrary@gmail.com.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.