Wintering
Katherine May · 2020 · 9 ideas · 9 min
Periods of hardship, illness, or withdrawal are not failures to be pushed through but necessary seasons that, like literal winter, force useful rest, reflection, and eventual renewal if we let them.
Why this book
May's central argument is that Western culture treats difficulty and retreat as personal failures — something to hustle past as fast as possible — when in fact these fallow periods, which she calls "wintering," are a natural and even generative part of a full life, deserving the same acceptance we extend to the actual season of winter. Drawing on her own experience of illness, her son's school anxiety, and a marriage under strain, alongside seasonal folklore, animal hibernation, and Nordic and Northern European winter customs, she builds a case for slowing down rather than fighting the fallow period.
It matters because relentless productivity culture offers no framework for people going through grief, burnout, illness, or simply a hard stretch, other than shame at not bouncing back fast enough; May offers a permission structure and a vocabulary — noticing, resting, retreating, and eventually reemerging — that reframes hardship as cyclical rather than as a permanent verdict on someone's worth or capability.
Who should read it
Anyone currently going through a rough patch — illness, loss, burnout, or a quieter unnamed low — will find both comfort and practical reframing here, as will people who feel guilty for needing rest. It's less useful as a step-by-step self-help manual than as a companion for sitting with difficulty honestly.
About the author
Katherine May is a British author known for memoir and nonfiction exploring nature, neurodivergence, and personal resilience; Wintering became a widely discussed bestseller during the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, resonating with readers navigating enforced slowdown.