Wintering cover art

Wintering

The life-changing Sunday Times bestseller

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

$8.99/mo after trial ends. Cancel anytime
Try for $0.00
More purchase options

Wintering

By: Katherine May
Narrated by: Rebecca Lee
Try for $0.00

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $18.79

Buy Now for $18.79

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 Indigenous Creators Mental Health Awareness Nature & Ecology Outdoors & Nature Personal Development Science Funny Heartfelt Witty

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
A profoundly personal, yet widely resonant and relate relatable, account of the concepts and practises of 'wintering', literally and figuratively. Beautifully written, beautifully narrated.

Winter of Content

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I listened to this book in 3 x days - I found it captivating and I could have listened to it in one sitting. Well written and well read, the truths I found in this book really spoke to me.

Really enjoyed this book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
a very supportive listen for times when life is darker and the joyousness of existence is more distant

insightful ponderings on the dark and quiet

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I loved this book. Yes it smacks of privilege, wanders all over the place and isn’t a linear story, but just let go and let it wash over you like a warm hug or a hot cuppa of soup on a cold day. It’s more like a meditation to listen to, than a novel, and it’s not self help, but assisted by a fabulous narration, it allows one to dwell on the beautiful words, and let one’s mind wander and reflect through your own difficult times. It’s not like anything I have ever read before, it weaves, literature, mythology, culture, science, friendship, travel and the authors own day to day life in a meandering acknowledgment that we all have our own winters and it’s okay to embrace our fallow times when getting out of bed is just too much. I suspect it’s something I will listen to time and time again, if not just for the joy of listening to the melodic narration.

Meditative joy to listen to!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book was exactly what I needed for my personal winter. It's such a relief to know I'm not alone and that it's normal to go through cycles of good times and bad. I'm so grateful to Katherine for writing this book and sharing her story.

Amazing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.