The Tide

At the age of nineteen, Michael finds himself contemplating his death from the vantage point of Hammersmith Bridge. But when he jumps into the Thames, it is only the beginning of his story. He is about to embark on a journey that will take him from London to Dublin and on to the west of Ireland in search of answers about his past. Michael lives with his grandmother, Margaret, and when she dies his fragile world falls apart. After a stay in a psychiatric ward and a hostel he takes to the road, determined to find Margaret's old house in Connemara, a place he associates with happy childhood holidays. But his mother ran off to Ireland when he was thirteen and he is haunted by the possibility that their paths will cross again. Urgently narrated in Michael's highly individual voice, The Tide is about a young man's quest to find meaning in the chaos of his world. It's about coming back from the brink and embracing life again.