A haunting and tender debut about guilt, grief, and the unexpected places we go to find redemption.
When thirty-year-old Conner Robbins hits and kills a cyclist, no one blames him—a freak accident, they say. But he can’t stop blaming himself. Conner is consumed by guilt, and begins to shut himself off from the people who care about him, risking his closest relationships and a career he no longer feels he deserves.
In the weeks following the accident, Conner finds an unexpected sense of solace in an unlikely place: a budding friendship with Lauren, the mother of the young man he killed. But as their connection deepens, they begin to neglect the people and responsibilities in their own lives. Now, both Conner and Lauren must confront the truth about their relationship: is it a path toward healing, or are they simply prolonging the pain?
Tender, intimate, and emotionally resonant, I’m the Undertow is a stunning debut about guilt, grace, and the complicated ways we try to move forward after loss.
Eric Scot Tryon is a writer and editor from San Francisco, California, where he lives with his wife, daughter, cat, and several poison dart frogs. His short fiction has been published in over fifty literary magazines, including Mid-American Review, Indiana Review, Glimmer Train, Ninth Letter, and The Los Angeles Review. He is also the founding editor of the literary magazine Flash Frog.
“A reflective examination of sorrow and redemption.” — Booklist
“I’m the Undertow is a stunning debut, an intimate, emotionally charged portrait of loss and the unlikely relationships that help us endure it. Eric Scot Tryon writes with sensitivity and grace about the fragile, necessary connections that carry us through periods of grief and guide us toward forgiveness. Compelling and beautifully observed, this novel announces a powerful new voice in fiction.” — Andrew Porter, author of The Imagined Life
“Propulsive, evocative, and atmospheric, Eric Scot Tryon’s I’m the Undertow launches readers into Conner Robbins’ world of upheaval following an accident that upends his life. So compelling you’ll want to read it in a day but swimming with beautifully written scenic and emotional sentences that will make you want to linger. A fantastic debut novel!” — Amy Stuber, author of Sad Grownups, Winner of the 2025 Pen Bingham Award
“Tryon’s moving debut is a paean to grief, a navigation of the labyrinths we wander when confronted with our greatest shame. A powerful examination of humanity in tragedy’s aftermath, this book explores how far we must sometimes go in order to forgive ourselves.” — David James Poissant, author of Lake Life and The Heaven of Animals
“A powerful and vividly rendered debut that deftly portrays the delicate and difficult work of rebuilding one’s life in the wake of tragedy. Even as it fearlessly plumbs the depths of grief and guilt, I’m the Undertow brims with warmth and life.” — Gina Chung, author of Sea Change and Green Frog
