by Tim Winton
First published 1998
Tim Winton examines his lifelong fascination with Australia's coastal margins in this intimate memoir. He traces how childhood beach vacations established his daily rhythm: mornings spent in sun and surf, afternoons driven indoors by wind to read and write. Winton explores his deep connection to shoreline activities like diving, wandering dunes, and beachcombing. He reveals how the meeting point of land and sea became central to his identity as both person and writer. The author describes the feeling of existing at the boundary between elements, a sensation that permeates his fiction. Narelle Autio's striking photographs accompany Winton's prose throughout. The book captures the pull of coastal living and examines why some people dedicate themselves entirely to this way of life. Winton offers readers an exploration of place, memory, and the natural world's influence on creative work.
Genres: nature, adventure, autobiography, biography-memoir
Vibes: emotional, intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: memoir, nature-writing
Setting: Australia
Paperback · Picador