The Gin Shack on the Beach

by Catherine Miller

  Let’s not wait inside while it rains. Let’s go and feel those drops on our skin, let’s run wild like today is the only chance for an adventure. Let’s hunt for dragons in forgotten corners of the world. Let’s lie on our backs and stare at wide blue skies and even if we only ever get as far as making daisy chains, at least we did everything within our power to capture those wispy white clouds.

  So, dream big. Dream loudly. Dream in a way that only you can master. Find happy. Chase after it like nothing in the world matters. Because the journey is important. And when you are on it, whatever way it takes you, remember to be kind. Be kind to everyone you meet, because if you are the ones to raise your friends up onto your shoulders, then when a time comes, and you have your own battles to get through, they will be there for you in return.

  My dear girls, my best friends, my daily wonders, everything that has passed is a promise that I will never let go of my own dreams, and I hope, in turn, I help to fuel yours.

  Love, Mum xxx

  In other words, be more Olive. I know I’m going to be from now on.

  Copyright

  An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.

  1 London Bridge Street

  London SE1 9GF

  First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2017

  Copyright © Catherine Miller

  Catherine Miller asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

  A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

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  E-book Edition © June 2017 ISBN: 9780008244859