Dana Mashoian Walrath, an artist, writer, and anthropologist, has released a new book titled The Book of Genocides, which reflects on the history of mass violence and its impact on human lives. The book honors the victims of the Nazi Holocaust and includes a chapter that examines the plight of Palestinians, portraying them as living under conditions of systemic discrimination, with homes destroyed by bulldozers or bombs. Walrath, who is Armenian-American and the granddaughter of survivors of the Armenian genocide, has dedicated herself to understanding and representing the experiences of those affected by such atrocities. In her work, Walrath traveled to all 10 regions depicted in the book, which includes case studies on the genocide of Indigenous peoples in the Americas, the transatlantic slave trade, the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, the Cambodian genocide, the Rwandan genocide, the Bosnian war, the Palestinian conflict, and the persecution of the Rohingya. Her family’s story of survival during the Armenian genocide was only recently expanded upon through conversations with her mother, who has dementia. These revelations prompted Walrath to leave her academic career and focus on creative work, leading to the publication of a verse novel about the Armenian genocide, Like Water on Stone. Walrath’s journey to these sites brought her face-to-face with survivors and perpetrators of genocide, including those who endured the killing fields of Cambodia, the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, and the displacement of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. These experiences took a heavy toll on her physical health, including illness after visiting Auschwitz and the West Bank. To convey the complex and often unrepresentable nature of genocide, she chose to use comics as a medium. Her graphic work avoids explicit depictions of violence, instead using metaphorical imagery to evoke empathy and reflection. The book’s interactive design invites readers to engage with the material in a tactile way, such as cutting pages into thirds to create a “turn-the-flap” sequence. This physical interaction is intended to make readers confront the patterns of dehumanization that enable such atrocities. Walrath emphasizes that genocide is not a natural or inevitable human behavior but a human-made system often driven by material interests like land. Her most controversial chapter addresses the history of Palestinian displacement and the aftermath of the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks and the ongoing conflict in Gaza. She acknowledges the potential backlash from her stance but remains committed to her belief that governments, not individuals, are responsible for genocide—and that such violence can be changed. The Book of Genocides is set for release on 8 September.