If I Must Die

#1 on CounterPunch’s Top 15 Books of 2024 | A USA Today Bestseller | Listed Among the Top 10 Books of 2024 by The New Arab 

“Refaat left us, but his word must not.”—Mosab Abu Toha

“A deeply personal window on Israeli violence in Gaza, this shouldn’t be missed.”—Starred review in Publishers Weekly

“Compelling … a glimpse into a restless political and literary mind, one that was still rising to the height of its powers.”—The Guardian

“Crafted with such meticulous detail … Refaat’s dispatches offer the poet’s most intimate and vulnerable thoughts.”—Drop Site News

“One of the most important literary voices of Palestine … Refaat has changed the lives of countless people, in Gaza and far beyond.”—Current Affairs

“Transforms trauma, death and despair into words and into poetry, occasionally rising to true greatness.”—Jewish Voice for Labour

“Fragments of a visionary’s blueprint for liberation.”—Middle East Eye

“The ‘Voice of Gaza’ lives on.”—New Arab

“Remarkable … a tragic document of genocide, and a beacon of hope for a Palestinian future.”—The Morning Star

“Alareer’s personality and character, his erudition, humor and compassion … flood this book.”—Jenny Lewis, Oxford University

“Utterly inspiring.”—Buzz Mag

“A seminal text, now and for future generations, in the struggle for truth and justice for the Palestinian people.”—Real Democracy Movement

”[Refaat’s] powerful writing humanises the Palestinian victims. He tells their back-stories and describes the lasting impact of Israeli killings on family members left behind.”—Labour Hub

“If I Must Die is more than just a book; it is a witness, an act of resistance, and a voice that will not be silenced.”—Mondoweiss

“The anthology is … an indispensable living document of a people’s fight against annihilation and a thesis statement on what makes us human.”—Full Stop Magazine

Refaat Alareer gained his PhD with a dissertation on the poetry of John Donne. He taught English Literature at the Islamic University of Gaza, now destroyed. He is the editor of two collections of writing by his students, Gaza Writes Back and Gaza Unsilenced. His journalism featured in The New York Times, and he appeared on the BBC, ABC News, and Democracy Now. He was a volunteer at the Gaza Zoo.