Wintering

I was lucky to receive an ARC from NetGalley for this book, and I really, really loved it. It touched on so many themes I have been interested in recently - the cycle of the seasons, cold countries, grief and anxiety, swimming, mental health, finding meaning and ritual in daily life. There is a lot on accepting trying periods in life as part of a natural cycle - knowing that summer will likely follow, and that there is maybe some beauty and poetry in times of hardship and scarcity. The writing is absolutely gorgeous, and I loved the format - not quite essays, but not quite a memoir either despite being very personal. I think when the book comes out, I will go and buy a hard copy and carry it around - it is the kind of book where you want to highlight every other sentence and copy paragraphs into a notebook.

I'm so glad I read this book.

How to describe it? It's a series of linked essays, alongside a personal story. It looks at different aspects of winter - darkness, cold, hibernation, stocking up - and explores their obvious meaning, but also what these things mean at a deeper level. This means it moves from dormice to community celebrations; from cold water swimming to the Northern lights. Along the way, Katherine May meditates on what it means to winter psychologically - those times when we withdraw from the world, when we lie fallow - why do we need to do that? How do we move on from our personal wintering? And what work are we doing as we winter?

It's an interesting premise, and it felt true to me. In a world where we are constantly exhorted to "live, laugh, love" it can be difficult to be sad, to pause, but maybe we need to accept sadness and learn from it.

I want to press this book on various people. I hope lots of people read it.

I have never in all my six decades as an avid reader come across a book that resonates with me as this one does, so I feel that I must address my review to the author rather than to other readers.

Thank you, Katherine May, for so eloquently describing MY thoughts on so many topics, some of them very active, others which have been hovering below the surface and are now out in the open. I've been nodding in agreement almost from the first page to the last.

I too love cold, dark and solitude. I venture far north every winter to get my fix of snow and ice and that lovely dry Arctic chill, and it's wonderful to encounter an author who would completely understand my joy on landing in Greenland to be told 'it's a beautiful sunny day, minus 26 degrees'. I just couldn't wait to get off the plane. Usually when I describe this moment I'm met with 'you must be crazy' looks, and mimes of shuddering/shivering, so reading Wintering made me feel normal rather than eccentric.

Your prose flows seamlessly between accounts of your personal challenges and fascinating stories of dormice, Halloween, bees, knitting, Sylvia Plath, singing, Under Milk Wood and so much more. Sometimes I had to turn back the page to see how we'd got from A to B so effortlessly. And I'd like to say a special thank you for dealing with the subject of alarm clocks; they trouble me in just the same way!

I truly think I was meant to find this book, as I've been thinking lately of taking up knitting again after a long gap, and have been craving a month in a cabin in Finland. I really must do something about both.

I love your writing style. It must have been amazing to find your time of night when thoughts flow freely. You waste no words, but bring scenes vividly to life, engaging all of the senses, and that's a difficult skill to master.

I'm going to wait a little while for Wintering to settle in my mind, and then read it again as there are so many great quotations that I would like to take from it. Thank you so much, Katherine!

I really enjoyed this book. I think the best way I can describe it is this is a proper book of hygge - not one telling you to wear fluffy socks and light candles, but one which explains how the writer uses winter to start looking after herself, having suffered from sudden illness within her family and the sense of confusion and seclusion she had after this.

There are some wonderful stories, making me laugh (her Finnish friend who is surprised at UK schools closing for snow, although admitting that the children get to play indoors if the temperature drops below -25C); some quite emotional (the comfort she was able to bring her sister following a death); making me cringe (lying on the floor of a gym changing room in just her undies due to feeling faint, then all of the staff run in to assist in the ‘medical emergency’) and so many that resonated with me (the stress that causes early morning worries encroaching on much needed sleep and leaving you feeling anxious, sick and paranoid).

As someone who loves the autumn and winter months, the cool to cold weather, the enforced self-care and need to hibernate that the dark brings, I devoured this book.

I love Katherine May's writing; she resonates with me, I find all kinds of similarities, then suddenly, she is totally different to me, and I wonder at her strength and the fortitude of those around her. Wintering is beautifully sad yet manages never to be miserable. A very positive book.

Wintering captivated me from the very beginning and it has that unputdownable quality that I always hope for in a book. It is the first book I've read by Katherine May and it won't be the last.

I was entranced by the lyrical quality of the writing and wanted to read Wintering slowly to savour every word.

I was first drawn to Wintering because I'm fascinated by the seasons or cycles we encounter in our lives, and the periods of time we spend in limbo following sudden change. Katherine's writing is so beautiful and takes the reader on the journey with her, describing scenes and situations so vividly that it's easy to conjure up pictures in your head. I travelled with her. There were moments when I laughed out loud and others when I held my breath. wondering how the story would unfold.

The word I want to use to describe Wintering is lush. As a reader, it's the sort of book I long for. Full of cultural references, and descriptions of places and traditions that send me down a rabbit hole wanting to find out more. It's a book that stays with you and makes you look at the world around you in a different way.

But, most of all, I loved Katherine's writing. She has a distinctive style and voice that I found so appealing. It's like being covered in a warm blanket. Wintering has taken me back to my childhood when I discovered a favourite book that I would read time and again. This is one of those books.

When I came across the description of this book, I knew I had to read it. This is the story of one woman's journey through a "winter" of her life - a time where we have to hunker down, go into ourselves and retreat in order to heal. For May that was a period of illness and uncertainty, but there are many reasons why our lives enter winter. Grief, depression, heartbreak, fear. And that is why this book caught my attention, as I'm going through my own winter and am looking for the guiding light of those who have been through it themselves. I wouldn't have used the term before coming across this book, but it fits so perfectly. And so does May's way of looking at it - not as something to be feared or avoided, but instead something to be used as a time for healing and transforming. When winter comes, you can't hide from it and so the best thing to do is embrace it. And if you're able to prepare for such periods in life, so much the better. This book is both a map and survival guide.

"That is wintering. It is the active acceptance of sadness. It is the practice of allowing ourselves to feel it as a need. It is the courage to stare down the worst parts of our experience, and to commit to healing them the best we can. Wintering is a moment of intuition, our true needs felt keenly as a knife."

May explores the experience of wintering alongside elements of seasonal winter - nature, weather, feeling the cold, traditions and hibernation. I thought this was a fascinating book as she is able to balance her own experiences and that of others she interviews with natural history and scientific evidence. Her writing is what elevates this book. I thought it was beautiful and really brought the full force of a cold wind or a crackling fire to life on the page. But mostly, what really resonated with me was the encouragement that she gives the reader to see even times of the worst emotional turmoil as a chance to withdraw, heal and transform. Not as an act of cowardice or selfishness, but as a natural way to cope with the ebb and flow of life.

"Life goes on, abundantly, in winter, and this is where changes are made that usher us into future glories."

I really enjoyed this book even though not a lot happened. It was about a season in the author's life and all the ups and downs she experienced. The best thing about the book was the quality of writing, and I think the author has a real gift. Some things resonated with me and some didn't. At times it felt a little distant. But generally there was so much to enjoy and savour. I also loved the way she intertwined her favourite childhood books, as some of them were my favourites too. Overall a great book with lots of heart and soul, good for snuggling down with on a cold winters day.

A beautifully written book with an observation on how we, as animals can prepare for the winter and then look forward to Spring. May has had to deal with depression and sharing her strategies and those of others who feel less happy (not necessarily depressed) in the winter months is very helpful. Certainly I struggle for a month in the darkest part of the year and I will try out some new things next year. I also love how she celebrates nature and notes little details which are so joyful; the robins, catkins and of course snowdrops.
This is a lovely book and I would certainly recommend it.
Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest, impartial review.

There are many reasons for reading a book, which is why the mix of reviews I undertake has such an eclectic feel to it, but one of the most satisfying is to learn from the wisdom of another’s experience. There is a lot of projection in modern life as we all try to put on a good face to the world via our various social media platforms, but how deep do we go in our conversations and relationships as a result? Books offer us that depth when they are written with honesty and accessibility and Wintering is one such resource.

Sometimes it is good simply to know that you are not alone in your struggles, the comfort of knowing that others have travelled the same pathways. Other times you want advice born out of lived experience, you need practicality that can help you make tangible progress. Katherine May achieves both of these by sharing her journey through the dark months of winter, attuning herself to the cycle of change that defines the season and is also an inevitable part of the human experience.

I wonder how much of our wellbeing, or at least our ability to cope, is linked to our connection, or lack of it, to those natural cycles. The way that Katherine’s narrative ties together her personal mental journey with travels through nature perhaps hints at an answer. It certainly felt important and right to me as I read and it is something I have felt a lot recently, as I have been reading about farming lifestyles in which the same themes dominate with caring for the lands inexorably linked to caring for ourselves.

When the author suggests that ‘We’re not raised to recognise wintering, or to acknowledge its inevitability’, she strikes another chord. It feels like we are not raised to meet any of the truly important and meaningful aspects of our lives. Human life in many of our institutions and practises seems to have been reduced to an economic value, rather than intrinsic human value, and crucial cultural passages and transitions have been lost from Western culture. Maybe we need to turn to the wild and the as yet “uncivilised” places and people that remain for some guidance.

Wintering is a beautifully written book that combines memoir, travel and reflection to express some honest fruits of experience. For that, it is both an important book in its own right and also a model for sharing together with integrity and learning from each other. From the Northern Lights to Stonehenge and the volcanic waters of Iceland the author’s journeying shadows her deepest emotions and presence. A gift that can help us prepare for all the seasons of life, especially the darkest.

There is much in this book that made me think that the author must have somehow got inside my head! It was heartening to read writing that so resonated with my thinking, moods and responses to the darker times in life. The writing is immensely thoughtful and beautiful and the pictures painted are clear and accessible. There was some repetition at times, but this deeply personal account held much truth and openness and was an immersive pleasure to read.

What an uplifting book. I would never have thought to consider that the Winter times of our lives are necessary, and we should embrace them as experiences to learn from. I gained so much by reading this book and as a result, will not look on darker times as something totally negative. I’ve learned that they have their place and if we allow it, they will ultimately help us grow.
I was particularly enthralled by the author’s summary of bees and how they live and work. I had no idea it was all so complex.
An amazing little book. Very well worth reading.

Among my friends, I know I am considered unusual because of my love of Winter. It's a tough decision for me on whether Autumn or Winter is my favourite season. This book, therefore, called out to me, and I'm so glad it did.

It is beautifully written touching on many aspects of Winter, but the one concept that grabbed my attention was that each of us might go through personal periods of Winter (those times when life seems darker and colder - whatever the season). I'd not come across this before, but it's something that will stay with me. When I talked about it to a friend, she also added 'and like the seasons, after Winter comes Spring'. When we are amid our personal Winters, they can seem neverending, yet they are usually temporary situations and often brighter times are on their way.

The book explores many aspects of winter, including sleep patterns, hibernation, nature, how others in colder climates cope. Two of my favourite pieces were around winter swimming and St Lucy's Day.

This book is one that touches the soul. It's also one that gives you permission to surrender to the natural rhythms of Winter as a time to nurture and refresh in readiness for Spring ahead. I'd recommend it to others, and I've already bought a copy for a friend who I think will appreciate its messages. It's a book that I'll pull off the shelf again and re-read as a reminder to be kind to myself should Winter show up for me unexpectedly.

On the face of it, Wintering is a book with all the potential for a litany of misery. Instead Katherine May makes her medical misfortune a contemplative exercise and a wonderful example of seeing and thinking about the world around her and her location within it. For that alone it is worth any writer reading Wintering for inspiration.

The mosaic of experiences works really well as May explores everything that shuts down or copes with overwintering, both the season or as a result of illness. This makes for a very comforting read as the author writes in a way which really connects the reader with May life and experiences while seeking ways to get through her illness. In this way Wintering welcomes you right into May’s world rather than keeping you at arm’s length as a mere voyeur to her struggles. The result is uplifting, and far from depressing.

Even while lying on the “cold, verruca-damp tiles” of the floor of a changing room, having overdone a sauna, the author’s description of an embarrassing and potentially serious situation exuded a wry sense of humour, which did far more than just make me smile.

May writes beautifully and poetically. The descriptions are delicate and fascinating in detail, each of which is to absorbed and relished.

Wintering is a book to be enjoyed many times, particularly on the dark days, be they literally the mid-winter type or psychological, as May takes you by the hand on a fascinating journey through a potentially bleak season.

I tend not to be a great reader of non-fiction, preferring to lose myself in the invented stories of others. However, this is a book that I have thoroughly enjoyed and would heartily recommend.

Katherine May talks of the concept of ‘wintering’ as a human response to the difficult and stark times which life can lead us through. Her approach is refreshingly honest and although she never descends to the twee phrase or the glib response, she does clearly articulate what she herself has discovered and what she has learned through talking to others.

Her meetings and conversations with a range of people whose life experiences are not necessarily the norm make this an extremely fascinating read.

Katherine is clearly a skilled and talented writer and in this book she succeeds in getting across her thoughts and experiences in an extremely accessible way.

"Wintering is a season in the cold. It is a fallow period in life when you’re cut off from the world, feeling rejected, sidelined, blocked from progress, or cast into the role of an outsider. However it arrives, wintering is usually involuntary, lonely and deeply painful".

Katherine May's own "Wintering" comes on the heels of a sudden illness within her immediate family. Struggling to get back on an even keel, Katherine finds herself seeking strength and comfort from others who have wintered, threading in the wintering of the natural world. 

The book is a sort of essay series, looking at different aspects of winter - literal, personal, and metaphorical - and interwoven throughout with lovely moments of insight, as well as interesting facts.It's a beautifully written book, and I read most of it wrapped in a blanket listening to the wind howl outside, which seemed very apt!

I'm sure I will return to this quiet, thoughtful book again and again, and will certainly be recommending it to friends. NB: I was provided with a free ARC copy of this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

First a confession: I often struggle with non fiction but was immediately drawn to the synopsis of Wintering by Katherine May. And I am so glad I overcame my resistance for the author drew me in to her world instantaneously. This book resonates on so many levels from its imagery, the fascinating facts you learn along the way, such as the hierarchy of bees, and the relative paucity of details of Ms May’s personal life. I love the way she tackles wintering and as someone who rolls her eyes at self-help tomes there are so many skills and tactics I could employ from this book. It’s so accessible, so easy to read and so very well written. Bring on the singing I say or as Katherine May says: The right to sing is an absolute, regardless of how it sounds to the outside world. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC.

Wintering is a memoir about how the writer confronted difficult times in her life and emerged stronger and wise on the other side. She uses winter as a metaphor for these inevitable periods in life, and makes literal and figurative comparisons to life's emotional journey and the way that the natural world accepts winter, adapts, and survives it.

I found this book immediately engaging and it's well-written without any sense of self-pity. It's an inspirational account of how to find mental strength and resilience by embracing life.

"The year will move on either way, but by paying attention to it, feeling its beat, and noticing the moments of transition - perhaps even taking time to think about what we want from the next phase in the year - we can get the measure of it."

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this beautiful, gentle, insightful meander through the season of 'Winter' and what it means to Katherine May. Whilst May touches on her own experience of depression and some of the events that have built up to phases of 'wintering' in her life, she talks beautifully about how other cultures and animals cope with the actual season of winter, and how these approaches can help us navigate our own 'winters', i.e. periods of our lives when things don't go to plan and we may find ourselves in need of some extra care. This is not a self help book as such, more a memoir or a description of one woman's journey through particular phases of her life.

The writing is poetic and refreshing - and also funny! The scene where she describes passing out after having a sauna had me smiling, May writes in a self-deprecating style that is easy to relate to and you never feel as though she is bestowing her knowledge upon you; you absorb her words as they are given kindly. I loved the passages where she describes natures way of approaching winter, such as the bees in the hive whose job it is to keep the other bees warm or the dormice that hibernate only waking once every couple of weeks to have a drink and then go back to their quiet slumber. A passage that stayed with me was when she talks about having a snow day, where you are prevented from going to school or work, and being forced to take time out of the usual routine to just enjoy the day and being at home. I think this approach also applies for sick days - when you are ill, it is nature's way of giving you a free pass to wallow on the sofa watching Netflix whilst you recover from that head cold - don't force yourself to go to work!

I completely loved reading this book and am grateful to Netgalley for sending me a copy. I am definitely going to be purchasing my own copy and most likely getting a couple more to give as presents to friends.

I was not sure what to expect from 'Wintering' and I was surprised to find myself endeared to the read, addicted to finishing it and absorbed with May's beautiful works. May is a truly gifted writer and has a beautiful way of writing. Without even considering the book material, this was a stunning, immersive read.
May's exploration of 'Wintering' was thought-provoking and she offers some fascinating insights into her thoughts and experiences of wintering. I wish I could read this book again for the first time and re-discover the delights of May's works.