Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times

After hearing an interview on NPR with Wintering’s author, Katherine May, I listened to the audio version during my 3-mile treadmill walks. I was so enraptured by May’s emotionally and tonally wide-ranging memoir that I planned to share her little (well, 241-page) wonder with you this week, and then the New York Times published a review of it on Tuesday, furthering validating my choice. There are literal cold and existential threats; then there are the metaphorical versions: I’m familiar with both, and May’s perspective has had a transformative effect on my past, present, and future experiences with them. Add to her wisdom her hilarity—and her repeated use of the word “liminal,” which is another one of my favorite states of being. Her memoir covers September through late March of one year; may we all traverse the territory of our own winters with her strength and grace.