
Book Club | Wintering (Katherine May)
February 23 @ 6:00 pm GMT – 7:00 pm GMT
In our February Book Club, we will discuss ‘Wintering: The power of rest and retreat in difficult times‘ by Katherine May. Several people have recommended it over the past few years, so I look forward to reading it alongside others. Would you like to join us? I would love to hear what you think of it.

Wintering Synopsis
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.
What Happens At The Haven Book Club?
We meet on Zoom for an hour to discuss our general responses to Wintering. We consider its core concepts, themes, and ideas and reflect on how they have resonated (or not) with us.
Our book club is informal, open, and welcoming. It doesn’t matter if you are a voracious reader or if this is the first book you’ve read in years. Your experience with it is what counts.
One of the wonderful aspects of discussions like these is that they can reveal new perspectives through which we can view books. Perhaps you found the writing style challenging, whereas someone else found poetry. Or you might have uncovered a thread that others overlooked. Sharing our experiences can unlock unexpected things and intriguing angles that we might not consider alone.
While it would be lovely to hear from you, there is no pressure for you to actively participate in our discussions. These are relaxed gatherings where people can be themselves. Similarly, although you will gain the most from it if you are familiar with the book, you are still more than welcome to join us even if you haven’t read it.
Keep The Wintering Conversation Going
We have a forum thread for Wintering by Katherine May, so the conversation doesn’t need to stop at the end of the meeting. Whether you didn’t make it to the meeting, new insights occurred to you later, or you prefer writing your thoughts, please continue the conversation this way.
Responses