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Wintering

The power of rest and retreat in difficult times

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

This is wintering. It is the courage to stare down the worst parts of our experience and commit to healing them the best we can.

Wintering is a poignant and comforting meditation on the fallow periods of life, times when we must retreat to care for and repair ourselves. Katherine May thoughtfully shows us how to come through these times with the wisdom of knowing that, like the seasons, our winters and summers are the ebb and flow of life.

A moving personal narrative interwoven 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.

'My favourite book of the last five years' CAITLIN MORAN

'Every bit as beautiful and healing as the season itself' ELIZABETH GILBERT

'Absolutely beautiful' CHERYL STRAYED

© Katherine May 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

 Emotions Mental Health Awareness Nature & Ecology Outdoors & Nature Personal Development Science Feel-Good Inspiring

Critic reviews

A beautiful, gentle exploration of the dark season of life and the light of spring that eventually follows (Raynor Winn, bestselling author of The Salt Path)
A book for the soul (Caitlin Moran)
Katherine May thoughtfully examines the emotional, spiritual, and geographical reality of the cold times, the dark days, and those periods of our lives when things are neither soft nor easy. In so doing, she offers a great and humane service to her readers: she shows us that wintering cannot be avoided, but need not be feared.
Wise, radical and comforting. It's a refreshing, original way of looking at winter, both the season and the winterings that happen in all of our lives. A thought-provoking joy to read. (Lucy Jones, author of Losing Eden)
We all experience periods of 'wintering' in our lives and this book shows us how to embrace the uncertainty that can come with it. A beautiful book that can be enjoyed in both winter and summer (Lara Maiklem, author of Mudlarking)
An elegant investigation into the consolations of nature and how it can be wonderfully restorative even on the bleakest of days
[A] sympathetic memoir ... May recounts how she attempted to embrace rather than resist the gloom and chill of winter ... she radiates sincerity and quiet self-knowledge
In this elegant memoir Katherine May finds beauty and transformation in a difficult period of her life ... an evocative ode to retreat that will appeal to fans of Deborah Levy's The Cost of Living
Wintering is the book equivalent of a perfectly timed hug you didn't know you needed, a warm blanket on a cold day ... it's exactly what the world needs right now (Nora McInerny, host of Terrible, Thanks for Asking)
A beautifully written mix of memoir and philosophy ... May offers much needed solace and comfort and a reminder that seasons eventually turn
All stars
Most relevant
Really enjoyed it. It resonated with me on lots of levels and feels like a chocolate box of tools you have but sometimes forget.

A book to live by

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This is a beautiful book and the narrators voice is lovely and matches it so well. The writing is so thoughtful and I will definitely be listening to this again. I’ll also be exploring the authors other work. Excellent!

Highly recommend - beautiful.

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I really enjoy listen to this book. I think it’s more likely that I can relate to story. I will definitely listen again soon.

Great book

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A necessary and welcome listen, perfectly timed, beautifully written and read-aloud, and full of wisdom from start to finish. I will be buying a hard copy of this to treasure alongside Brenè, Glennon, Elizabeth G and other such brilliant women on my bedside table. Wintering is a real gift - do not miss it!

It ended with as much resonance as it began...

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that's fine. I'm at a different point of my journey and so the words didn't connect in the same way. still very good.

I really miss the estuary twang of the original authors voice. As she covers her voice problems in the text I understand why she didn't read, but it lost something because of it.

Didn't touch me the way her first book did

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