Memoir ~ Lifestyle Review no 3 Wintering by Katherine May

Katherine May reflects on winter experiences, in two dimensions.

She is honest about those personal periods in her life which have been more than a challenge, both personally and in her family, in terms of health and a sense of well being. “The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times”

She also seeks out folks around the world, who find positive ways of not just surviving winter, but thriving in the darkest coldest times and places; wild swimming, sauna, bottling and preserving to prepare for the big freeze … so many different cultures and ways of coping with freezing winter months.

I was given this book as a gift and I will treasure it, having already read it twice. Unlike the recent books I’ve explored, The Salt Path by Raynor Winn, and Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, Wintering didn’t have a ‘WOW’ response having read it. Instead

I experienced breathing deeply and being gently wrapped around with a cosy blanket.

I also believe that Katherine May wrote honestly and truthfully, not claiming to have found a

“panacea ~ a solution or remedy for all of life’s ills.“

This book also made me reflect on of my own memoir, “The Healing Paths of Fife” which has raised over £750 for local charities, including The Kirkcaldy Foodbank. It is a beautiful part of the world, with a lesser known coastal path, meandering along the Firth of Forth (and the Tay), with castles, quaint fishing villages, history, cliffs, machair, golf courses, rocks, beaches and, of course, The Forth Bridge. I describe it as a fantasy memoir, making clear that it veered from truth to history to fiction. It too has made an impact on people’s lives.