Wintering - bookrastinating.com

256 pages

English language

Published Dec. 3, 2020 by Penguin Publishing Group.

ISBN:: 978-0-593-18948-1

(2 reviews)

Sometimes you slip through the cracks: unforeseen circumstances like an abrupt illness, the death of a loved one, a break up, or a job loss can derail a life. These periods of dislocation can be lonely and unexpected. For May, her husband fell ill, her son stopped attending school, and her own medical issues led her to leave a demanding job. Wintering explores how she not only endured this painful time, but embraced the singular opportunities it offered.

A moving personal narrative shot through with lessons from literature, mythology, and the natural world, May's story offers instruction on the transformative power of rest and retreat. Illumination emerges from many sources: solstice celebrations and dormice hibernation, C.S. Lewis and Sylvia Plath, swimming in icy waters and sailing arctic seas.

Ultimately Wintering invites us to change how we relate to our own fallow times. May models an active acceptance of sadness and …

Sometimes you slip through the cracks: unforeseen circumstances like an abrupt illness, the death of a loved one, a break up, or a job loss can derail a life. These periods of dislocation can be lonely and unexpected. For May, her husband fell ill, her son stopped attending school, and her own medical issues led her to leave a demanding job. Wintering explores how she not only endured this painful time, but embraced the singular opportunities it offered.

A moving personal narrative shot through with lessons from literature, mythology, and the natural world, May's story offers instruction on the transformative power of rest and retreat. Illumination emerges from many sources: solstice celebrations and dormice hibernation, C.S. Lewis and Sylvia Plath, swimming in icy waters and sailing arctic seas.

Ultimately Wintering invites us to change how we relate to our own fallow times. May models an active acceptance of sadness and finds nourishment in deep retreat, joy in the hushed beauty of winter, and encouragement in understanding life as cyclical, not linear. A secular mystic, May forms a guiding philosophy for transforming the hardships that arise before the ushering in of a new season.

6 editions

torin@bookwyrm.social reviewed Wintering by Katherine May

A book for reading when you’re sad

4 stars

I’m glad i read this book. It was quiet and beautiful and helped me see some failures in my life with a bit less despair and a bit more hope.

It isn’t quite as cohesive or linear as i expected and whether I found that annoying or an illustration of the topic depended on my mood.

Sometimes i was annoyed by the author - how seriously she took herself and her own pain, how not seriously she took that of others until it was A Crisis. But mostly i was grateful she was willing to show less flattering parts of herself and of course i judged her most harshly where our failings align.

Ian Betteridge reviewed Wintering by Katherine May

Review of 'Wintering' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Brilliant

This is a powerful book about seeing yourself and your life not as linear but as cyclical. It’s not about depression, but if you are feeling dissatisfied with your life, or if you’re going through a tough time it’s a book that I would very much recommend.