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Wintering

The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times

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Wintering

By: Katherine May
Narrated by: Rebecca Lee
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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

©2020 Katherine May (P)2020 Penguin Audio
Emotions Grief & Loss Indigenous Creators Mental Health Awareness Personal Development Funny Heartfelt Witty

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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

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Was mesmerised by this book
Hibernated on a cold winters day and couldn’t stop listening

Listened to it in one day

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The most memorable parts were the author losing her voice and having to find it again through doing singing lessons. She was such a giver to other people in her career. The other parts in the story I enjoyed were travel to countries in the world that have the best winters, her reading nurturing serious books in winter and trash in summer. Her love of cold water swimming, in oceans resonated with me too, except I take daily cold showers. Good for the blood pressure and resilience.

Restored my faith in weathering winter

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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

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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

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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.