Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times
by Katherine May
Riverhead Books, 2020, 256 pgs
I believe that modern life has caused us all to forget how to rest. We run around on almost empty most of the time. What happens when the tank runs out completely? The stress and the inflammation can cause us to suffer adrenal fatigue, and if we do it long enough, disease will manifest. In my case, I manifested two autoimmune disorders. The author began having inflammation of her digestive system.
In short order after opening the book, May finds herself needing to heal and delves into a season she calls "wintering", where she retreats from the world to rest, think and renew herself. Unable to work because of her digestive pain, she takes time off. The book explores her thoughts during this time, how important it is to feed oneself emotionally. She compares the retreat to how the seasons flow in nature. In winter, the trees, plants and animals prepare to sleep, then in spring everything awakens and comes to life. Summer is a slow enjoyment of the sun, and fall is the time to prepare for winter's starkness. Following the lead of the seasons seems a very sensible thing to do.
Very well written, this book is for anyone who is currently experiencing a time of difficulty, which we all do at various times in our life. It makes you think. It brings forward an understanding that yes, we often do need to enclose ourselves away sometimes and just be able to rebuild our stamina in order to face what is ahead of us.
Katherine May is an internationally bestselling author and podcaster living in Whitstable, UK. Her internationally bestselling hybrid memoir Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times was adapted as BBC Radio 4’s Book of the Week and was shortlisted for the Porchlight and Barnes and Noble Book of the Year. Katherine lives with her husband, son, two cats and a dog. She loves walking, sea-swimming and pickling slightly unappealing things.
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