Wintering

A well written book that I enjoyed. A focus on life being a series of tidal ebbs and flows, waxes and wanes rather than a linear GETTING BETTER or GETTING WORSE.

I had the same kind of issue I have with Matt Haig’s books where the answers and “solutions” just don’t translate well, or I can’t empathise with the situation.

Some of the book centres around mindfulness and the power of acknowledging and addressing the moment and your needs.

I don’t really agree with some of the criticism the author is getting - all situations are relative and as much as I can’t empathise with the situations here, that doesn’t devalue them. It felt to me as if the book was intentionally internal and inward looking, rather than it being a statement on her character.

Calling low points in life "wintering" definitely attracted me to this book. I like the cyclical aspect of the metaphor, its opposition with the notion of an eternal summer that we should aspire to even though it's impossible, but after reading this book, I have mixed feelings about it.

On one hand, I highlighted several passages, on the other hand most of the time the author's sensitivity or comparisons did nothing for me. I felt like the book remained a collection of loosely connected autobiographical passages, comparisons with animals like dormice, robins or wolves, and a few interviews of people who went through their own winters. But it never became more than the sum of its parts.