reported by Desirae Goldman, FictionFanatic.com

Author Eileen Fleming's new book, Keep Hope Alive: Memoirs of Khaled M. Diab Imaginatively Retold (now available through AuthorHouse), is a memoir, a historical fiction, the author's physical and spiritual journey, and was written for baby boomers curious about the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"Before Sept. 11, I did not give too much thought for others beyond my rural community ... but afterward I wanted to understand why a small group of people hated America so much they would target and murder innocent people. Being a Christian, I also sought to resist evil with good, and began the search to do both."

Keep Hope Alive documents the real-life story of Khaled Diab, a 1948 Palestinian Muslim refugee from Upper Galilee who made his way to America and into a career in the Defense industry with top-secret clearance during the Cold War. The book opens with Fleming's imaginative discussion of a group of friends around Khaled's olive-wood kitchen table in Buffalo, N.Y., the morning after Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination. Topics of conversation include the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the treasures of the Nag Hammadi library and the stages of the soul. These topics are intricately woven into a provocative and cohesive story.

Khaled and his family move to Orlando, Fla., and friends and loves come and go. Newly wed at the age of 78 he ponders the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001 and is compelled to take positive action. With the help of many friends, he founds the nonprofit, nonpolitical Olive Trees Foundation for Peace (OTFFP).

"Keep Hope Alive documents the history of this organization of American Jews, Christians and Muslims who came together to raise awareness and funds to begin to replant the olive trees the separation wall has destroyed," writes Fleming. "To date, 30,000 trees have been rooted. All royalties paid to me for this work will be donated to the OTFFP which is now connected to the YWCA in Bethlehem and YMCA in Jerusalem's Keep Hope Alive Olive Tree Campaign."

Keep Hope Alive is a reflection of recent and ancient history and, its author says, "We all can do something positive and everyone who purchases this book will be contributing to a mini-Marshall Plan in Gaza this planting season which begins in November."

Fleming was born in New York in 1954. She worked as a visiting nurse in Orlando for 10 years before marrying her husband, John. Since the couple moved to South Lake County, Fla., the author has donated more than 1,000 hours at the Westminster Care Center.