Life is yours, be unapologetically you.

Summer. It has finally arrived! Woo hoo! *cartwheel & flip* The kids are out of school (almost), vacations have been planned, and it’s time to break out the shorts and the tank tops! And with Memorial Day weekend just a few short days ago, beaches along both coasts were undoubtedly swarming with bodies. Which leaves one final question. What about you? Do you prefer the beach? This question wouldn’t have passed my lips, sixteen years ago. My childhood consisted of spending at

Two-hundred twenty-two days. Or was it two-hundred twenty-three? I’d lost count. Didn’t matter. It had been more than seven months since my boat had sunk, since I’d managed to find my way into the dinghy. Had resurfaced on the beach. The lone survivor. I’d searched, begged to find someone, just one. But none were found. I shoved my feet through the grainy sand, the once seductive tropical appeal of beach life now nothing more than a daily nightmare. Clothes tattered and threa

The ocean breeze tossed sand across my skin, the particles thick in the stickiness of the sun-lotion I’d just slathered on. I ignored it. Too much relaxation called my name to bother with a few grains of earth. “Good morning, Sadie,” I said. A plate of hour old bacon sat on the make-shift beach table. Sadie wouldn’t mind that it was hour old. She ate in peace, for now. Her stomach would grumble again soon. I rested my head back, the umbrella tilted over my chair so my body es