Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times

One goal I have this year is to share one book that resonates with me for each season. Winter in Oklahoma may be nearly over, but as any Okie knows, we could experience the full gamut of the weather patterns before winter ends.

Many folks experience seasonal mood changes due to less daylight in winter, but instead of fighting the season, is there another way to cope? As a former English major and teacher, I find that my therapeutic work often draws just as much upon my experience with characters within literature as it does upon all the education and training I have gained as a therapist. As a student of literature and a life-long reader, I was learning the human condition on the written page long before my first psychology course. In session, I find myself often referencing a literary character or recommending a book to my clients when I feel it may be helpful. To know we are not the first and only human to suffer in the ways we do can be a balm, and often, we can take away a greater self-knowledge from our engagement with a good book. There may be an opportunity to embrace the darker, colder days of winter and to reflect upon and engage in healing before the busier days of spring beckon us outside. Every season has its challenges and opportunities, and to kick off the first season of 2026, I highly recommend Katherine May's book Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times. Here's a little more information about it:

Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May is a memoir and meditation on embracing life's fallow periods. May explores how to find healing and wisdom in periods of retreat, using personal stories, mythology, and science to argue for the necessity of rest and the cyclical nature of life, encouraging readers to find beauty and purpose in the "dark seasons" of their own lives.