New Novel Tells Inter-Generational Story of Resilience and Hope Despite Rooted

A new novel “First Rule of Fire” by Rebecca Gopoian was released in May by Nauset Press.

The book, an interwoven and multi-generational narrative, shows how history can never truly be erased, no matter how hard we try to deny or forget.

Partly based on real diaries, the book explores how one family builds hope and resilience from the roots of trauma.

The story begins with Jivan in Eastern Turkey, 1914, at the start of the Armenian Genocide, and follows the young teen through years of upheaval as the life he knows falls apart. 

The second thread depicts a day in the life of Araxie, Jivan’s future wife, a new mother grateful to have made it to America, eager to love and be loved, but haunted by her past. 

Lastly, there is Miriam, the half-Armenian, half-Jewish future grandchild of Jivan and Araxie, stumbling into puberty and attempting to navigate middle school in 1980s New Jersey, while her family’s unspoken history lingers.

At times dark and painful, the novel also portrays the hopeful and awkward moments of life, whether in the midst of war or the relative safety of American suburbia – having a crush, being fourteen, searching for your place, and finding your way.

Author of “When Our Fathers Return to Us as Birds” Peter Markus praises the novel, “The prose in this novel dazzles and sings with a lyrical clarity all its own. The story itself and its inter-weaving between how the past lives on into the future is as compelling as you’re likely to find. On all levels—the writing, the characters, the sequence of interrelated events—this is a book hard to put down, a book that had to be written.”

Aida Zilelian, author of “All the Ways We Lied” writes, “Sweeping across timelines, ‘First Rule of Fire’ sends us on a voyage of memory, loss and innocence. The short chapters seem to burst from one moment to the next with tenderness, pain and warmth. ‘First Rule of Fire’ tells us that no matter our past, the love of family can mend what has been lost.”

Ben Nadler, author of “Prairie Ashes” also praises the novel, “Gopoian masterfully balances past and present as she explores intergenerational trauma—and healing—in an Armenian diaspora family. ‘First Rule of Fire’ is a bold assertion of life in the face of a violent history.”

Rebecca Gopoian received her MFA in Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is the author of a poetry chapbook, Terrible Person, and a book-length poem, Two, about becoming a mother for the second time. Rebecca lives in Queens and teaches English at Hostos Community College in the Bronx. First Rule of Fire is her first novel.

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