The Tide Comes Around
A Novel by Yuliana Kim-Grant
AVAILABLE NOW
The Tide Comes Around explores how we are all strangers, uncertain travelers in a world that is never quite what we think or might positively become. Penelope, an American woman of Korean descent, has exiled herself to Los Angeles to escape a complicated love affair and her beloved brother’s suicide, the tragic consequence of another life-defining event that occurred years before. Filling her days of exile by babysitting for her deceased brother’s fiancée’s wealthy friends and working on her dissertation, Penelope can’t help but feel lost. But when Lauren starts an affair with a married neighbor, the circle quickly becomes a gauntlet of drawn knives on all of the neighborhood.
Penelope realizes that she will never rest until she faces the consequences of her brother’s suicide and seeks revenge on the person she believes caused her family the most pain in life, so she returns to New York. Once back home, she creates her own upheaval by falling in love with someone she did not expect. Love and anger lead her into dark and desperate places, and she must learn to bring them together in personal reconciliation.
“‘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.”
“‘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.”
MEW/EMW Productions believes artists are sponges that find inspiration and innovation by incorporating multiple influences into their creative expressions. One of those is the profound impact music has on storytelling and bringing fictional narratives and characters to life.
Yuliana Kim-Grant has been impacted by music her entire life. Her new novel, which we proudly champion as our company’s first release, is lovingly sprinkled with music references that have influenced the story and comes from the generational representation of the people she inspires us to try to understand.
Here is an eclectic playlist of Yuliana’s choice tunes that are both direct representations of the book’s fictional world and also evoke the emotion and tone readers will grapple with in the novel. The songs represent the complexity of her characters, but more importantly, her Generation X’s aesthetic for not being grounded in just one taste and instead embrace it all. Here’s a little taste of what’s to come as you listen for when the reading experience finally arrives!
Enjoy!
The Tide Comes Around Narrative Soundtrack
Meet the author
Yuliana Kim-Grant is the author of a previous novel, A Shred of Hope. She was born in Korea and then raised in Philadelphia. She has worked in the film industry as a development executive and now lives in NYC with her husband and son. As a result of her own struggles with depression, she embraced becoming a yoga instructor and yoga therapist to complement her passion for the written word. Her work helping others with their own mental and physical health became the genesis for Phoenix Tales, her podcast that provides a platform for ordinary women to tell their intimate, extraordinary stories of courage, perseverance, and reinvention, which is reflected in Yuliana’s own creative work.
Photo courtesy of Lyan Bernales
Praise for previous work
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“Achievement that it takes many writers years to reach. Some of the ripples crash with the force of a tsunami, others quietly build into waves that - without a shred of sentiment, but a great tincture of hope - wash clean the people they touch...can expect even better to flow from the pen of Yuliana Kim-Grant.”
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“The depth of intimacy she shares with her characters and her communication of their inner and outer struggles is nothing short of stunning…The clarity and precision of the writing never wavers.”
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“Writing authentically about interior life is difficult. Bathos and polemics can destroy a story at the drop of an adjective. Not here. Ms. Kim-Grant shows discipline and a taut, consistent, and clear voice.”
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“You will see more from her…clear overtones of culture clash…as well as racism of a variety we don’t often consider.”
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“Beautifully written. Compelling characters. Heartrending.”
Yuliana will soon be featured on NPR discussing her personal journey and creative work, including her upcoming novel.