I couldn’t have an issue about burnout without talking about this book.
Wintering by Katherine May is a book that I return to regularly, as soon as the weather turns cold. Once it’s time to light a fire and curl up under a blanket on the sofa, I know it’s time to read Wintering. But this is not just a book about the season of winter.
This is a beautiful and nourishing book that explores the seasonal shifts that occur in nature, and within us.
May weaves together stories about how our ancestors dealt with times of cold and darkness, how winter is approached in the far north, and how far we’ve come from our natural responses to this season, with a compassionate investigation into times of inner darkness.
Depression, burnout and fallow times in our own lives are pushed away these days as aggressively as nature, but with equal detriment to our wellbeing. May talks openly about her own experiences, and interviews others to understand how we can meet ourselves more openly, honestly and warmly, accepting these periods as part of the inevitable cycles of life.
Wintering is a great reminder that we are part of nature, and that seasons are a necessary part of our experience. What happens when we prepare for the cold, and allow ourselves to retreat into the dark?
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