BORN AT THE END OF THE WORLD, a novel

376pp., frontis., paperback, Catalyst Press, El Paso, 2026

ISBN: 9781960803337

A debut historical novel about patriotism, love, camaraderie, and courage, set in Ethiopia and Eritrea in the 1970s. Based on the author's family history, it follows the interwoven lives of Elen and Girmai, who join the underground Eritrean People's Liberation Front in Asmara after the Derg regime overthrows the Emperor's government and unleashes the torture and mass killings of the Red Terror campaign.

"A determined Ethiopian woman enters the fight for Eritrean independence in Donica Merhazion’s riveting historical novel Born at the End of the World ... a  thrilling historical novel about a woman’s resilience and resistance." Dontaná McPherson-Joseph, Foreword Magazine

"Inasmuch as Born at the End of the World is about love, it is also about language, the politics of language and the implications of these politics. Merhazion seeks to understand who we are behind our tongues, what ties bind and divide men on the basis of language." Azubuike Obi, Afrocritik

Donica Merhazion was born in Ethiopia during the Red Terror, and has lived in Eritrea, Kenya, and the United States. A former journalist, she teaches in Nairobi, Kenya.