30th July 2026
No Way But Forward with Brian K. Barber
Professor Brian K. Barber talks to us about his book, No Way But Forward: Life Stories of Three Families in the Gaza Strip.
Brian first travelled to Palestine as a researcher in the 1990s. Over the following three decades, he developed close relationships with families in Gaza, gaining a rare insight into their everyday lives, ambitions and struggles. His book follows three families through the defining moments of their lives – from education, employment and marriage to siege, repeated displacement and devastating loss.
Brian explains why the book is not primarily an account of the politics of Palestine and Israel, but an attempt to fulfil the one request made of him by the families who welcomed him: “Tell our story.”
The conversation explores the danger of viewing Palestinian children solely through the language of trauma and why Brian prefers to describe Palestinians as “resourceful” rather than “resilient.” He discusses the central importance of family, education, religion and a shared determination to defend human dignity.
The final section of No Way But Forward records a year of WhatsApp messages sent to Brian by the three fathers following 7 October 2023. These firsthand accounts document displacement, starvation, injury, bereavement and the indignities of life in makeshift tents, while also revealing the families’ continuing commitment to their children’s education and futures.
About Brian K. Barber
Brian K. Barber is Professor Emeritus at the University of Tennessee and lives in Washington, DC. His work examines how different contexts, from parenting and family life to political systems and violent conflict, affect individual and social development.
He is the editor of Intrusive Parenting: How Psychological Control Affects Children and Adolescents and Adolescents and War: How Youth Deal with Political Conflict. His most recent book is No Way But Forward: Life Stories of Three Families in the Gaza Strip.
The book is available in print and as an e-book, with translations in Italian and German and a French edition forthcoming.
Please listen, share and help these families’ stories reach a wider audience.