The Palestine Chronicles is a searing collection of short stories drawn from lived reality in Gaza during one of the most devastating humanitarian catastrophes of our time.
Through the eyes of children, young lovers, siblings, and survivors, we watch as their once ordinary lives are thrown into a maelstrom of unrelenting bombardment, displacement, hunger, and loss. With captivating agency, the reader is moved through the rubble of col- lapsed homes and overcrowded hospitals into ruined streets and makeshift tent cities. All the while, Al-Bardawili deftly upholds their humanity—sharing moments of remarkable tenderness, bittersweet nostalgia, and extraordinarily stubborn love.
Based on real events, these narratives refuse abstraction. With clarity, restraint, and deep compassion, Al-Bardawili reminds us that behind every statistic is a life once lived, once loved, and still remembered.
Both a literary work and an act of witness, The Palestine Chronicles is a rallying cry for humanity.
IMPORTANT: The Palestine Chronicles is also available at also available as an epub. Find it on Kobo or Kindle or most any of your preferred online book retailers today.
The oldest of seven, Mohammed Al-Bardawili was born November 23, 1998, in Gaza City, Palestine. After finishing high school, he attended Al Azhar University Gaza, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English Literature in 2022. For over five years, Mohammed also worked as a Digital Marketer, until the events of October 7, 2023. Since that fateful day, he and his family have struggled with uncertainty, including famine, displacement, and death.
And yet through it all, Mohammed continues to write. His first book, Midnight Thoughts in Gaza, was self-published in 2024. The Palestine Chronicles is his first book of short stories
A multimedia artist and humanitarian activist from Nova Scotia, Canada, Jenn Grant is perhaps best known for her music. A three-time Juno-nominated singer, songwriter, and internationally acclaimed recording artist, her music has been described as “the aural equivalent of a warm embrace” (Pop Matters), “majestic vocals” (Consequence of Sound), and “dreamy, harp-and-woodwinds folk, the work of a painter born in paradise” (The Age, AU). With ten studio albums to date, she has become one of Canada’s most distinctive voices, earning East Coast Music Awards, a Polaris Prize longlisting, and widespread recognition for her ethereal sound and evocative storytelling. The painting featured on the book’s cover was inspired by “Orange Trees: Ahmed’s Story”— the last story featured in The Palestine Chronicles.
“These narratives are more than history—they are the heartbeat of human survival… Poignant, raw, and authentically human.”
— Jeremias Tecú, Guatemalan Genocide Survivor and NB-based Settlement Worker; Storyteller, In the Arms of Inup.
“With unflinching candour and arresting compassion, Al-Bardawili challenges us to steady our gaze. His stories hold up a mirror within which we see ordinary people experiencing extraordinary hardship.
In doing so he forces us to ask the question, “Who are we to look away?”
—Dr. Bruce Mason, Transliteracy Specialist, Professor, University of Edinburgh.
“The Palestine Chronicles is a profoundly moving book. With devastating eloquence, Mohammed Al-Bardawili forces us to confront the destruction that continues to sweep through the rubble of Northern Gaza—and the humanity that persists de- spite it. It forces us to picture the terror when “the sky rains fire and metal”, and to consider the lives of the thousands of people actually experiencing it.
Perhaps the most moving aspect of these many stories is that somehow these courageous young people are finding companionship and even love. I am compelled to ask: can love conquer all?
To this end, I remain steadfast and whole-heartedly pray…”
—John Graham-Pole, M.D. Award-Winning Author, Emeritus Professor, University of Florida.
“Mohammed Al-Bardawili writes exquisitely. His fictional stories, told from the point of view of young survivors navigating their ruined lives in occupied Gaza, blend horror with hope. And yet, love seems to prevail. The Palestine Chronicles captures the light and the darkness of what people are enduring in Gaza.”
—Marie Wadden. Journalist, Author, and Film Director.
“From the first page, this powerful book brings forth the reality of life in Gaza. It is a reminder of the horrific truths of living under a genocide and is an important and eye-opening read. While the world tries to look away, Al-Bardawili resists the de- humanization of Palestinians in an exceptional way.
An impactful reminder of the human beings beyond the head- lines, this book is an act of resistance against the occupation, and it inspires solidarity. Another powerful quality about the book is its subtle position that this is not a conflict between two sides but is about a people and their land being subjected to the worst acts of terror imaginable.
This book vividly captures the power of Palestinians’ unrelenting strength, and the resilience of love amid destruction. The Palestine Chronicles is a hymn to the stolen souls of Gaza.”
—Mawadda Khanes. Undergraduate student, and co-founder of The Hijabi Project and Women for Palestine, New Brunswick.
<$10.00 CAD (plus postage): paperback
9781989587263
5.5×6.5 | 66 pps.
