MY RATING
Synopsis:
Longlisted for The Wainwright Prize 2020
‘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 peaceful rebuff to life in fast-forward’ Guardian
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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.
‘Every bit as beautiful and healing as the season itself’ Elizabeth Gilbert
‘Absolutely beautiful’ Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild
- Pages: 276
- Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir, Self-help
- Publication date: February 6, 2020 by Ebury Digital
- Format: Kindle, Paperback, Hardcover, Audible
- Source: Library
PURCHASE LINKS:
AMAZON
THE REVIEW:
Oh, I didn’t know what to expect when I picked this one. I just saw a few people recommending it, and I remember really liking the cover and the sound of it. Mind you I usually don’t read nonfiction but it has been probably a year now that I am enjoying it more and more and maybe I have reached an age where I need to escape the fantasy world I want to escape in to by actually dipping my toes back into reality lol hope that makes sense in my head it does!
This book talks about wintering. And how important it is for us to recognise that this is not a bad thing, but rather we need to embrace the winter, prepare for it, learn from our mistakes, and each new winter get more prepared than the last. It is a metaphor, really, for when we are going through a rough patch in our lives and we just cope and push through.
The author uses so many different references to the Nordic culture at first, with the pickled veggies, Finnish saunas, different poems and scientific facts. My favourite has to be about the wolves and the story of how they are hunted down as animals and how exceptional their perseverance is, regardless of them nearly being extinct at one point in England.
I found a lot of things I was able to relate to when, in the beginning, her husband falls ill and she shares her fears and admits to herself that things are not easy, especially when you take the person next to you for granted. This hit close to home. Because the same thing happened to us not too long ago, although I feared for both my child and husband. They were in the hospital for nearly 3 weeks. I was with our baby girl, and my husband was alone, waiting for an emergency operation. This was the second scariest moment in my life after the emergency delivery I had.
May talks about her personal pregnancy experience, and by the sound of it, she might have had a similar issue to mine with the blood pressure and how the midwife did not want to allow her to fly to Norway in late January, especially when she did have some issues getting pregnant in the first place… However, I personally would have never put myself and my unborn baby at risk simply because I wanted to go to see the aurora borealis and because I might not be able to do this once the baby is born.. The safety of my child is paramount. This part I definitely judged harshly, and it did not sit well with me because I see those mothers a lot, and I call them egoists. When they would not stop doing something that is known to cause harm to the baby or might cause harm, and they would do it anyway… example, smoking or drinking, doing extreme stuff like this one here. Anyway, I’m not perfect either. I never claimed I was, but putting myself and baby in such a situation would never occur to me. Like I said, I prioritise my child more than anything else. Once you become a parent, your needs become secondary, and many people don’t get this..
This aside, this book was an interesting read with some valuable and interesting information that I would recommend you try if you are craving an escape from your to-go genres.
Overall, a solid 4 star read for me.
Lin's Perspective 
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