Wintering is a memoir about coping with depressed mood and difficult events in life, and how the author found comfort in nature, friendship, travel, books and cold water swimming, among other things. It is structured into chapters following the months of the year, although it does not follow any chronological sequence.

I am not sure what I expected when I started this book. I was drawn to it because it had been mentioned gushingly in Instagram posts and in podcasts. Because I experience seasonal affective disorder, living on the eastern Atlantic where the weather can be gloomy and wet, I thought there might be some nuggets of wisdom in there for me. Alas, I was to be disappointed.

The chapters read more like individual essays, rather than one cohesive narrative, and jump around in time constantly - from struggles with her adolescent son back to a trip to Finland when she was five months pregnant. The overall result was somewhat disjointed and unsatisfying.

The "difficult times" the author speaks of are anxiety-inducing and aggravating, to be sure, but they are not of the catastrophic variety - her husband's appendicitis; her son's difficulties in school; and her own disaffection with her career. However she has the ability to decide to walk away from her career at the university, a choice most people cannot afford to make. She homeschools her son, which is a valid choice and again, not something every parent has the luxury to do if they wanted to do it. She can travel to Iceland and dip into the Blue Lagoon to relax and feel rejuvenated, while simultaneously lamenting her finances.

If you are looking for a slow, contemplative read, then perhaps you will enjoy this. While I admit I often spend too much time in my own head, even I found the navel-gazing in this one too much.