On childhood holidays to the beach, the sun and surf kept Tim Winton outside in the mornings, in the water; the wind would drive him indoors in the afternoons, to books and reading. This ebb and flow of the day became a way of life.

In this beautifully delicate memoir, Winton writes about his obsession with what happens where the water meets the shore - about diving, dunes, beachcombing - and the sense of being on the precarious, wondrous edge of things that haunts his novels.

'In this record of a life-long love affair with the sea, Tim Winton's prose ripples, shimmers and surges with awe and respect for how the ocean has not only sustained him physically and emotionally but determined the very rhythms of his life.' Fiona Capp, The Age

'Winton's homage to the ocean and his childhood ... A book to return to again and again.' Matt Condon, Sun Herald

'A love letter to the beach, an enchanting celebration of life on the edge.' Sydney Morning Herald