Wintering by Kathering May

 In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”
― Albert Camus

 That Camus quote nicely sums up what Katherine May discovered as she wintered through some tough times.   Categorizing this book challenges...part memoir, part self-help, part commentary on ritual...and then there's all the history, and quirky details about things we (or at least I) just don't think about.  Winter is May's metaphor for troubling times, no matter when, where or how long.

May takes us along as she winters through a full year filled with doubts, fears and high anxiety.  At times she frustrated me with her Debbie Downer routines, and just like that, a smooth transition would begin.  In the process of allowing herself to drift away from the darkness, she learned, she grew, and she accepted her life in the moment.

You can tell new age thinking took center stage at times, not quite unicorn thinking, but close. New age has never been my genre of choice but,  stepping aside from that, May filled the book with stories past and present.  She offered insights into the Druid religion, the feast of Saint Lucia (that story was a doozie), and took me to the sauna culture of Scandinavia.  Like May, I'd take a fast and hard pass on that one.  No way I am going to sit sweating with a bunch of naked strangers, plunge into icy water, and declare myself renewed.   

Oh, but the wolves stories and the bee keeping - mesmerizing.  Embedded in all her experiences was the warmth and strength we get from ritual.  Weekly coffee with friends, game night, or perhaps something bigger like religious celebrations...rituals keep us close to what is important to us, to what grounds us, and to what brings us together.

This is a book to share.  It will resonate with each reader differently.  My copy will find its way later today to friend's front porch with the hope that, after reading, she will do the same.  Maybe, in a couple years or so, it will find its way back to me, battered, highlighted, written in, and questioned.

For some reason, after reading May's closing words...

"It often seems easier to stay in winter, burrowed down into our hibernation nests, away from the glare of the sun. But we are brave, and the new world awaits us...we have a kind of gospel to tell and a duty to share it. We, who have wintered, have learned some things"

...I wanted to walk to my dog on this cold January day, and the let the bitter cold air surround me...just to see what is has to say.  

Pleasant wintering to you all.

Thanks for stopping by.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay happy.

Only seven Mondays till spring.