Before the Flood: A Gaza Family Memoir Across Three Generations of Colonial Invasion, Occupation, and War in Palestine

by Ramzy Baroud, Ilan Pappé (Foreword)

A profound exploration of Palestinian history and resilience through the personal stories of the author’s family—the al-Badrasawi’s. Beginning with intimate details of village life in Beit Daras prior to the Nakba, Ramzy Baroud vividly portrays the rich cultural heritage, deeply rooted traditions, and daily struggles faced by ordinary people whose lives were radically disrupted by the violent upheavals and ongoing conflicts driven by British colonialism and Zionist aggression.

Baroud weaves together past and present, illuminating how historical forces shaped the collective consciousness and steadfast resilience of the Palestinian people. His storytelling reveals not only the harsh realities of occupation, displacement, and loss but also the extraordinary courage, faith, and solidarity that underpin a powerful and enduring spirit of resistance, encapsulated in what the author refers to as the Palestinian “longue durée.” Ultimately, Baroud aims to humanize and reclaim Palestinian narratives from distorted portrayals, highlighting their perseverance and the universal quest for justice and liberation.

300 pages, Paperback

Published February 17, 2026

Reviews

[sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

the way baroud was able to write an intergenerational memoir about his family that also intersects with palestinian history is incredible. he tells his own history while simultaneously telling palestine's history, which makes the reader realize that you can't have one without the other. palestinians hold a history so deep and enduring their lives are all seemingly interconnected despite what they've been forced to go through for generations. reading just a single family's story makes me think of the countless families whose stories we might not get to hear again as a result of the constant attack on palestine but with baroud's writing it makes me hopeful that we'll continue to see palestinians celebrate and share their history with the world for generations to come.

thank you to seven stories press for sending me a copy of this release!

[Berenice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this book on a display table in a modest bookstore above Louise Penny’s coffee shop in Québec. Given that my previous grasp of genocides centred mostly on the Holocaust, I decided I would benefit from a better understanding of the Palestinian situation. Before the Flood delivered. Author Ramzy Baroud traces the degradation and trauma endured by multiple generations of his family since 1948. They have been beaten down, physically and emotionally, yet they keep refusing to accept their treatment. In each generation, members fight back as best they can. Some of them die—not just from fighting, but from their living conditions—but some of them keep surviving through their wits, will or luck. Resilience would be an understatement. The ethnic cleansing occurring in what was once Palestine is largely unacknowledged by the nations and ethnicities outside of it (which partly explains my relative ignorance before reading this book). This “cleansing” is reminiscent of the experience of Europe’s Jews under Hitler’s policies. Baroud’s writing style is not award-winning (hence I’m giving the book 4 rather than 5 stars), but I turned his pages rapidly and benefited hugely from what he had to say. I recommend it to anyone open to better understanding the Israel-Palestine situation.

[Natali · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was devastating and beautiful. I honestly do not understand how the people of Gaza have not been broken, or how a commitment to faith can be strengthened with each tragedy. This book made me want to pray.

It also made me utterly disgusted with my own government for supporting what has been done to the Palestinians. How can such cruelty be abated? I will never understand.

This is not only a thorough history of modern Gaza, but a deeply human one. Baroud tells the stories we rarely hear in Western media, and I finished this book in tears.

[Nadeen · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The images on this book’s cover attempt to honor some of the faces of those lost in the genocide. But no single cover could ever contain all the innocent lives that were extinguished. Even if such a space existed, entire families have been obliterated—burned away with their photo albums. And yet, their beautiful faces, their warmth, and their stories remain etched in our hearts forever."