Tides of Resilience

Tides of Resilience: Beyond the Wave is a gripping, genre-bending memoir by debut author John Bromfield – a raw, cinematic journey through trauma, travel, and the long road to healing.

At its core, this is the story of two friends who set out to escape the shadows of tragedy and find meaning in the chaos of the world. From the streets of London to the temples of Thailand, from rooftop parties in LA to backwater jungles in Borneo, the memoir captures the highs of adventure and the lows of self-destruction – all shadowed by a single moment that changed everything: surviving the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

Told through vivid, graphic-novel-style flashbacks, pop culture references, dry British humour, and brutally honest reflection, Tides of Resilience charts one man’s descent into grief, addiction, and PTSD – and the difficult, defiant climb back out. What begins as a hedonistic escape becomes a slow reckoning with buried trauma, lost friends, and the question that haunts every survivor: Why me?

Spanning more than two decades and multiple continents, this memoir blends the pace of a thriller with the heart of a confessional. It is as much about backpacking and bravado as it is about silence, shame, and the search for self. Whether reliving a therapy breakthrough, a near-drowning in Portugal, or a chaotic night in Saigon, Bromfield writes with searing clarity and emotional depth.

This is a book for anyone who’s ever run away to find themselves – and discovered just how far the past can chase you.