Souren Hanessian was born into a distinguished Armenian family in Garin (Erzeroum). In 1915, during the Armenian Genocide, he was in the first caravan of Armenians to be deported from that city. In the following few months, he survived two major massacres and, in a bizarre twist, discovered an uncle serving as an officer in the Ottoman army in Zile (Sivas). After joining his uncle, he had to live under a Turkish name and attend a Turkish school. However, when his uncle was posted to Samsoun and Batoum (Georgia), Souren followed him. At the end of the World War I, he, his uncle, and a number of other Armenian officers remained in Batoum. After undertaking some business ventures in the Caucasus and visiting the new Armenian republic, Souren moved to Constantinople (Istanbul) and attended the Berberian school. He eventually emigrated to the United States in 1921. His memoir was written for his family members.