A story of love, loss, and the tides that pull us home.
After the suicide of her beloved brother, Penelope leaves New York for Los Angeles, determined to put distance between herself, her grieving Korean American family, and the places and memories that continue to haunt her. Far from home and untethered by loss, she spends her days working on her dissertation and babysitting for wealthy families connected to her late brother’s fiancée. But when a neighbor’s affair sends shockwaves through the close-knit families around her, Penelope can no longer ignore the grief demanding her attention.
Unable to let go of the belief that someone bears responsibility for the tragedy that shattered her family, Penelope returns to New York determined to seek revenge and finally confront the past. In her search for answers, she finds herself unexpectedly drawn into a complicated romance that challenges her understanding of loyalty, forgiveness, and herself.
As anger and desire pull her in opposite directions, Penelope must decide whether she can continue living in the shadow of loss or find a path toward healing and building a future of her own.
The Tide Comes Around is a character-driven literary novel about grief, family secrets, cultural identity, and the search for belonging.
“The Tide Comes Around lays bare the messiness that trails behind death. Spanning the West and East coasts of American life and the before and after of a tragic death, Yuliana Kim-Grant’s second novel explores the unraveling lives of a group of friends left to navigate the weight of shared loss. Ironic, surprisingly humorous, and deeply relatable, The Tide Comes Around exposes the contradictory registers of grief. An impressive debut publication by MEW/EMW Productions.”
— Kate Eichhorn, author of The End of Forgetting
“The Tide Comes Around is an unflinching exploration of grief and the way it tears families apart. At the heart of the story is a wonderfully complicated and deeply feeling Korean-American character who is determined to understand the sibling she lost no matter the cost to herself. I loved being in Penelope’s inner world and going with her on her journey, from the beauty and dangers of an island to the rush and excitement of city life. The stakes and suspense of this compelling novel kept me riveted.
— Jimin Han, author of The Apology