The Wintering Sessions with Katherine May
In The Wintering Sessions, Katherine May asks guests about life in the cold: our literal and metaphorical dark seasons, and how to survive them.
In slow, thoughtful conversations, writers and performers share their wisdom on enduring difficult times. Frank, vulnerable, melancholy and redemptive, The Wintering Sessions burrows deep into the complexity of being human.
?A tender examination of our fallow seasons in life? The Guardian
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Gemma Cairney on conducting energy with balance and motion
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
This week Katherine chats to Gemma Cairney, presenter, curator of greatness and author of ?Open: A Toolkit...? and more.
There's a strong chance you're familiar with Gemma through her prolific radio and broadcast career, but if not - as you've surely come to notice over the Wintering podcast - you're about to meet another new best friend. Gemma's been grinding and hustling since the early days of her media work which kicked off at the BBC, and Katherine checks in with her at a point in her life where so many of the experiences along the way are truly forming some epic life chapters which have to be heard. What you'll hear in this episode is a spirit of turning lemons not only into lemonade, but an amazing lemon salad dressing as well as some incredible lemon jewellery too. From a whirlwind which synchronised around the time of the early days of the pandemic, this is a glorious and uplifting chat where we find Gemma at a reflective, wise and refreshed place. You'll enjoy it as a fan of Gemma or as a newly acquainted listener - and in either case, have a look at what she's been up to in case you've missed anything (including a ton of sea swimming of course). Wintering Sessions listeners, please enjoy!
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Aimee Nezhukumatathil on nurturing wonder through nature
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
This week Katherine chats to Aimee Nezhukumatathil, author of ?World Of Wonders? and more.
An uplifting, soulful and inspiring chat with Aimee and Katherine, beginning with a foundation of wonder and never dropping the ball once.
Moving from prose to poetry and immediately feeling boundaries being lifted, Aimee has put out some truly valuable work into the world and this is a perfect opportunity to get to the heart of it all.
As always, it branches out into some rich areas including the juxtaposition of memoir and nature, enforced patriotism as a child, the gradual introduction of cultural reference while growing up, seeing the restrictive attitudes of the 80?s dissolving through generations, examples of harnessing the outdoors and nature from her parents and her geography being shaped by their professions, making your own entertainment, moments of wonder and how children can help trigger them in adults through example, the luxury of time in enjoying the outdoors and so much more to enrich your day.
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Elissa Altman on navigating the Motherland
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
This week Katherine chats to Elissa Altman, author of ?Motherland? and more.
Katherine finds Elissa in that pre-Christmas zone, which serves as the perfect jumping-off point for a very upfront, candid and fascinating conversation on family. Specifically, Elissa's relationship with her mother. Like every family, it's a relationship which is unique and comes with its own inimitable history, and as such, informs where the two find themselves this present day, and it's a wonderful thing to hear Elissa talk openly about all that is contained within this box of memories and present moments. In addition, Elissa catches up with Katherine about the New England Winter, being a feeder, her relationship with her father, mental wellbeing, getting out of the 'swamp' via nature and its grounding properties, rediscovering and reprocessing her musical proclivities, and all with a real glint and sparkle.
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Maggie Smith on the mutual reflection of poetry
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
This week Katherine chats to Maggie Smith, poet, writer and editor from Columbus, Ohio.
You may know Maggie's tremendous work via her poem 'Good Bones', which she has a difficult relationship with. The poem is often referenced in times of crisis, which she thinks of as a 'disaster barometer' - she break downs this fascinating dissonance in her chat with Katherine, which reaches a wide range of topics including metpahor, the 'tasting' approach to culture, her own range of published works, America's history of being unsafe for many, being honest with children, how younger people understand pronouns so well, the divorce whisperer, prose, how the content dictates the container, the act of physically writing on paper, seasons and the beauty in the decay of Fall. So much to inspire and invigorate. A delight.
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Cheryl Strayed on walking through the wilderness
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
This week Katherine chats to Cheryl Strayed, author of ?Wild? and so many more.
A luxurious chat from the beginning til the end, this is a wonderful chance to get to know Cheryl a little better and hear the voice behind the books. It?s a true comfort, which folds in everything from the power of walking and what it can do to you, the unfinished walk, the male narrative and damage on all sides, finding the ?off? button for our brains and whether such a thing is achievable, brainfog, her ?Dear Sugar? advice columns and discovering the human ?standard set of problems?, and not being scared by the wilderness in which she grew. Lovely, and nourishing too.
Quick note: Katherine mentioned heliotropic breathwork, which she immediately noted was 'holotropic' - just in case you pick up on that!
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Main site (all books listed here)
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Jennifer Pastiloff on the power of 'I Got You'
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
This week Katherine chats to Jennifer Pastiloff, a speaker, teacher, and author of ?On Being Human?.
In a warm and honest chat with Katherine, Jennifer perfectly lays the table for where she finds herself at this point in time, as a yoga instructor, public speaker and best selling author. With an attitude of ?I Got You? - extended to a community which she has cultivated with care over time - she has learned to transform her own feelings of shame towards her deafness, and earlier moments of trauma in her life. It?s an episode which offers effective solutions within, and inspiring thoughts on behaviours, being misunderstood, and ?silencing the inner asshole?, as well as overlaps with deafness and autism, and being a founder of a movement known as ?Shame Loss?.
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Jackee Holder on the good things in life
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
This week Katherine chats to Jackee Holder, coach and author of 'Writing With Fabulous Trees', among many more.
Jackee Holder is a writer, walker, coach, interfaith minister and daughter of the windrush. In this uplifting conversation, she talks about the capacity of life to uplift us, her love of libraries, and how a tree helped her to treasure her name.
Hear Jackee expand too on her introvert / extrovert sides, rituals and body prayers, seasons and trees and nature metaphors, having skeletons on full display rather than in the closet, Enid Blyton, 'pouring libation', her superhero mother with hidden sea skills and a huge amount more in what Jackee herself refers to as a 'campfire chat'. A lovely and perfectly fitting finalé to season 2 of The Wintering Sessions!
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Parable Of The Sower (Octavia Butler)
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Michelle Adams on how life can change in an instant
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
This week Katherine chats to author Michelle Adams.
Michelle Adams is best known as the author of Little Wishes, Between the Lies and My Sister. In this episode, she talks about a sudden and unexplained illness that disrupted everything she knew about herself, and how vital her support network became during that time.
In other areas of this open and honest chat, Michelle also expands on her love of podcasting over the written interview, allergy season in Cyprus where she and her family make their home, the whole process of her life being shaken up through her experience, reflections with the clarity of time and so much more which will give you a glorious insight into her character.
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Katherine on Michelle's podcast Beyond Words
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Angela Barnes on the continual winter of Persistent Depressive Disorder
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
This week Katherine chats to Angela Barnes, podcaster, comedian and regular panel guest on Mock The Week (and much more!).
Angela Barnes has zero tolerance for anyone reassuring her that she's pretty - it talks over her lived experience, and does nothing to change her self-perception. Here, she discusses living with Persistent Depressive Disorder, which has made her whole life feel like the drizzly English climate, but which has also made her more able than most to endure the hard-knocks life of a stand-up comedian.
A very cheerful chat which always zeroes in on the important points with lazer focus, picking up on where Angela is in the greater pandemic situation, working with her PDD, building daily frameworks, having a comedy tribe which normalizes certain behaviours and actions, fear of rejection, CBT, entitlement, TV, the perils and - well, perils of social media, and the notion of beauty on a grand scale.
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Josie George on the joy of small things
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
This week Katherine chats to Josie George, author of 'A Still Life: A Memoir'.
Josie George has always lived with a complex of medical conditions that are difficult to name, but which leave her permanently in pain and having to carefully manage her mindset and energies in order to cope with everyday life. Here, she talks about the joys she finds in small things, and the vibrant appreciation for life that her restrictions have given her.
An upfront and positive chat in which Josie goes into her history with health, illness versus wellness, forms of gaslighting taking place through diagnoses, spiralling but maintaining forward motion, adapting to change rather than stopping, maintaining presence and tuning into frequencies of mindfulness.
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Georgina Lawton on growing up Black in a white family
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
This week Katherine chats to Georgina Lawton, author of 'Raceless: In Search of Family, Identity, and the Truth About Where I Belong'.
For most of her life, Georgina Lawton was aware that she didn't look like her white family, but by her teens, she was no longer able to believe her parent's line that she was a genetic 'throwback' to a Black ancestor. In her memoir, Raceless, she writes about the painful process of forging a Black identity from scratch, and the painstaking work of repairing her relationship with her mother after years of denial.
A really lovely chat which branches out onto areas including her Surrey upbringing, the sense of confusion in her early years, the experience of receiving racial comments more often as she grew up, finding friend groups, her amazing perspective shifts through travel, and her strategies in breaking down her racial origins - she has developed numerous versions depending on the situation. A fascinating look at family, friends and society.
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Raceless: In Search of Family, Identity, and the Truth About Where I Belong
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Tanya Shadrick on learning that life is short
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
This week Katherine chats to Tanya Shadrick, author of 'The Cure For Sleep'.
A few days after giving birth, Tanya found herself in an ambulance, barely clinging to life. But surviving that terrifying experience changed everything. In this conversation, Tanya talks about how facing death made her bolder, more certain of her ambitions, and more determined to become a writer. And it also left her able to help other people who were nearing the end of their life.
Tanya lets us all in on a number of very personal moments in her life, and details how she found a route through it all at times when obstacles seemed unsurmountable. From sudden clarity, to life-changing impulses, to being of service and of course her own writing studies (including the mile-long journal), it's an intimate and ultimately uplifting and inspiring journey.
TANYA LINKS
Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
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Zeba Talkhani on surviving online abuse
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
This week Katherine chats to Zeba Talkhani, author of 'My Past Is A Foreign Country'.
Growing up as an Indian Muslim in socially-repressive Saudi Arabia, Zeba Talkhani learned her feminism young, unable to stop questioning the restrictions on her thoughts and personal freedoms. But after writing a memoir of her experiences, she encountered a backlash that she could never have expected. Here, she talks about how she came to terms with the abuse she received after publication, and how it brought her closer to her mother.
Zeba and Katherine also touch upon and go in on topics including the patriarchy and how the West can use other countries as a metric for its power, the pressure in securing a husband and how it affected her very early life, how one encounter in a school hall has stayed with her, the acknowledgment of privilege, personall fallout after receiving preview copies of her book, and the beauty and joy of finding writing again.
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Sara Ryan on grief, justice and righteous anger
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
This week Katherine chats to Sara Ryan, author of 'Justice For Laughing Boy'.
After Sara Ryan's autistic son, Connor, was sectioned and admitted to a residental mental health unit, there seemed to be no way to get him out again. And then, one morning, he died after having an epileptic seizure in the bath. Convinced that negligence was to blame, Sara began a campaign that not only brought the local authority to justice, but also put Connor's humanity at the front and centre. Sara talks about righteous anger, the urgent need for change in our care system, and how friends and family can help you to endure.
A moving and intimate conversation which balances unflinching honesty and grief with levity and grace, and one where you'll come away with a real feeling of closeness to Sara and Connor. There are tough moments, but Sara has come through an experience with hard-earned wisdom and as such, it's an inspiring journey with positives along the way.
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Marlee Grace on journeying to the center
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
This week Katherine chats to Marlee Grace, author of 'Getting To Center'.
In this frank and wide-ranging conversation, Marlee Grace talks about the process of finding a life that makes you happy.
Drawing on her book 'Getting to Center', she talks about finding love, living with addiction and the ongoing quest to find balance in life that's led to her decision to leave Instagram (at least for a while).
It's fascinating to hear Marlee's take on social media at a time when so much of life is being maintained online, and when mental wellbeing is very much at the forefront of our conversations. Marlee also opens up about creating real life connections, her many other works, the strength found and nurtured in her own relationship through tough times, how those in relationships have managed through the pandemic, 'the dance of intimacy' and 'sacred union', social media projections not being aligned with real life, coping through frozen dinners and "How Intimately Powerful The App Is" (her Post-It mantra).
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Nicola Slawson on being alone in Berlin
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
This week Katherine chats to Nicola Slawson, journalist and founder of 'The Single Supplement'.
Through her newsletter The Single Supplement, Nicola Slawson has become the poster girl for a happy life lived alone. But much of her success lies in her ability to write honestly and with balance about the single life - and here she talks about a period of extreme loneliness after taking a dream job in Berlin. This is a story of finding your own path through difficult times.
An upfront and honest take on her experiences in journalism and travel, in which Nicola talks about loneliness versus being single, her journalism training, waves of depression which were magnified through situation and location, the toll that reality can take on journalists, confronting echo chambers, spirals, imposter syndrome and being 'Queen Of The Hustle'.
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Michele Harper on the calling to work in ER
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
This week Katherine chats to Michele Harper, author of 'The Beauty In Breaking'.
Michele Harper's career as a physician is a true vocation - the result, she says, of a childhood spent with an abusive father. In this conversation, she and Katherine talk about the nature of her calling to help, and her experience of racism in the workplace, where she has found herself both on the receiving end, and taking the role as a defender of her Black patients. Underlying it all is a mission to bring about change.
Hear Michele also expand on how nothing feels strange anymore through her incredible experience dynamic, her personal toolkit for managing her day a piece at a time, her own upbringing and how it energised her own intuitions and instincts in the ER environment, spiritual and mental health, societys felief valves, and her own seemingly unending optimism.
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Kerri Ni Dochartaigh on healing the trauma of The Troubles
Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.
This week Katherine chats to Kerri Ni Dochartaigh, author of 'Thin Places'.
Kerri talks in detail about the aftermath of growing up in Derry at the height of the Troubles, as the daughter of a Protestant father and a Catholic mother. Forced to come to terms with trauma and survivorship guilt, Kerri found healing in the dark magic of the Irish landscape and Celtic mythology.
In a wide ranging conversation, she and Katherine cover ground including relationships, names, unidentified and hidden grief, authoring a redemptive book, the role places play in trauma, nature, the honest and the healed self, and a friendly sonic interruption from a chimney being swept (which remains, as Kerri weaves it in masterfully).
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Sophia Blackwell on a lost time between two loves
In this episode, I speak to poet, novelist and broadcaster Sophia Blackwell about the time when a relationship brutally ended, leaving her flailing around to find a sense of home.
Sophia discusses the experience of relationships when you've known you were gay since childhood, and shares the romantic story of meeting her wife.
You can find Sophia on Twitter: @sophiablackwell
Her website - including links to her books and radio show - is here: https://www.sophiablackwell.co.uk/
To keep up to date with The Wintering Sessions, follow Katherine on Twitter, Instagram and Substack: http://katherine-may.co.uk
For information on Katherine's online writing courses, go to: https://katherine-may.teachable.com/
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Remona Aly on breaking an engagement and the transformative force of grief
In this final episode of Season One, I speak to journalist and broadcaster Remona Aly about her life-changing decision to call off an engagement, and how it echoed through the years to teach her about forgiveness, faith and empathy.
This is such a special one for me - I went to school with Remona, and I think you can hear our joy at reconnecting after a couple of decades, and feeling so at home in the process. We cover all of human life here: buckle in.
I'll be back in the autumn with more brilliant writers sharing their wintering experiences. Make sure you subscribe so you can be the first to hear them. Thank you for listening so far! :)
You can find Remona on:Twitter: @remonaalyInstagram: @remonaaly
You can read her journalism at: https://remonaaly.com/articles/
For information on Katherine's online courses, go to: https://katherine-may.teachable.com/
To keep up to date with The Wintering Sessions, follow Katherine on Twitter, Instagram and Substack: http://katherine-may.co.uk/links/
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Raynor Winn on losing everything and finding home
Author Raynor Winn talks to Katherine May about the losing her home when her husband was diagnosed with a terminal illess, and finding new life from having nothing
Raynor Winn has captured a multitude of hearts with her book, The Salt Path, which recounts the time she lost her home just as her husband received a terminal diagnosis. With nothing to lose, they set off to walk the South West Coast Path carrying nothing but a tent.
Here Raynor reflects on that transformative time that redefined the meaning of home - and gives a welcome update on Moth's health. We also hear about her forthcoming book, The Wild Silence.
I adored talking to Raynor about our shared love of the South West Coast Path, as I always do :)
You can find Raynor on:Twitter: @raynor_winnInstagram: @raynor.winn
Her forthcoming book, The Wild Silence, is out in September.
For information on Katherine's online courses, go to: https://katherine-may.teachable.com/
To keep up to date with The Wintering Sessions, follow Katherine on: Twitter
Newsletter: https://katherinemay.substack.com/
Aspring non-fiction writers may also enjoy Katherine's weekly newsletter Writing True Stories.
Wintering, the book on which this podcast is based, is out now in hardback.
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Rachael Lucas talks about ending her violent & controlling first marriage
Author Rachael Lucas talks to Katherine May about the realisation that she was in an abusive marriage, and how getting out allowed her to finally flouish
On the outside, it looked like Rachael was living the prefect life, but the reality was very different. It slowly dawned on her that she was subject to coercive control, but that realisation was suddenly accerlated when her husband became violent.
In this moving, honest interview, she talks about the hard process of getting out, and falling back on state benefits while she found her feet. But with a long view, she now has sage advice for women in the same situation: don't be afraid to ask for help. Life gets so much better.
You can find Rachael on:Twitter: @karaminaInstagram: @rachaellucas
Her latest book, The Telephone Box Library, is out now.
For information on Katherine's online courses, go to: https://katherine-may.teachable.com/
To keep up to date with The Wintering Sessions, follow Katherine on: Twitter
Newsletter: https://katherinemay.substack.com/
Aspring non-fiction writers may also enjoy Katherine's weekly newsletter Writing True Stories.
Wintering, the book on which this podcast is based, is out now in hardback.
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Huma Qureshi on the pregnancy that diverted her writing dreams
Author Huma Qureshi talks to Katherine May about a wintering period during her third pregnancy
When Huma got pregnant for the third time, she expected to flourish: after all, she already had a successful journalism career and was working on her first novel. But extreme sickness floored her, and took her into a dark mental space in which she felt that she might never recover.
In her wise and wonderful interview, Huma explains how we can emerge from the deeply miserable moments in our life with a new - more self-compassionate - plan.
You can find Huma on:
Her book How We Met is published in January 2021. Her work features in The Best, Most Awful Job, an anthology of honest writing about motherhood.
For information on Katherine's online courses, go to: https://katherine-may.teachable.com/
To keep up to date with The Wintering Sessions, follow Katherine on: Twitter
Newsletter: https://katherinemay.substack.com/
Aspring non-fiction writers may also enjoy Katherine's weekly newsletter Writing True Stories.
Wintering, the book on which this podcast is based, is out now in hardback.
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Jini Reddy on bereavement and finding a way through life
Jini Reddy, author of Wanderland, talks to Katherine May about a dark season in her life.
When Jini's father died suddenly, she was still trying to work out what to do with her life. In this moving conversation, she talks about the times when she felt lost and unsure what to do next. But in time, she came to make her career as a writer.
I loved talking to Jini - she's a true citizen of the world with roots in Canada, India and South Africa, and a sense of spirituality that emerges from having lived in a range of cultures. In this interview, we discuss the landscapes we love, our shared hatred of temping, and Jini's ingenious places to retreat.
You can find Jini on Instagram or Twitter. Her book Wanderland is out now in hardback.
To keep up to date with The Wintering Sessions, follow Katherine on Twitter or Instagram. Wintering, the book on which this podcast is based, is out now in hardback.
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Rebecca Armstrong on giving up alcohol
In this thoughful and incredibly honest converation, journalist Rebecca Armstrong talks to Katherine May about a huge change that she undertook at the end of last year - giving up drinking alcohol.
Rebecca discusses her life before she stopped drinking, the process of making the decision to go sober, and her life since. She's warm, frank and funny, offering an account of alcoholism in which there's no rock bottom, just a dawning realisation that something's got to give. In the meantime, she shares the new treasures she's found in sobriety, including an appreciation for the dark months of winter.
This interview is recorded down a line, so please forgive any glitches in sound (eagle-eared listeners will detect Katherine's dog scratching at the door halfway through!)
You can find Rebecca on Instagram.
To keep up to date with The Wintering Sessions, follow Katherine on Twitter or Instagram. Wintering, the book on which this podcast is based, is out now in hardback.
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Catherine Cho on postpartum psychosis
In this week's episode, Katherine May talks to Catherine Cho, author of Inferno, a beautifully told account of postpartum psychosis.
After the birth of her son Cato, Catherine travelled to the USA, where her mental health declined to the point that she was committed to a secure ward. Her book details the time in which she recovered her sense of self and her bond with her baby, while trying to undersand what happened. After reading it, I was desperate to get Catherine on the show, and she does not disappoint: her account is thoughtful, scintillating, and, best of all, shame-free.
This interview is recorded over a line, so please forgive any glitches in sound.
You can find Catherine on Twitter, and Inferno is out now in Hardback.
To keep up to date with The Wintering Sessions, follow Katherine on Twitter or Instagram. Wintering, the book on which this podcast is based, is out now in hardback.
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Leah Hazard on changing career after having her first child
This week, I talk to Leah Hazard, NHS midwife extraorinaire and author of Hard Pushed, part memoir of Leah's life on the labour ward, and part exploration of the current state of the profession.
Leah is as funny, wise and warm in person as she is in print, and she talks about the life-changing decision to leave her TV career and train to be a midwife, and the moment when the stress became too much during one very busy night on the ward.
You can find Leah on Twitter @hazard_leah and Instagram @leahhazard. Hard Pushed is out now in paperback.
To keep up to date with The Wintering Sessions, follow Katherine on Twitter or Instagram. Wintering, the book on which this podcast is based, is out now in hardback.
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Penny Wincer on being a carer twice over
In this episode, Katherine May talks to Penny Wincer - photographer, activist and author of Tender: The Imperfect Art of Caring - about the wintering seasons in her life.
Penny discusses her time as a young carer for her mother, who suffered from depression and anxiety, and her current role as carer for her autistic son, Arthur. While she never stops advocating for the needs of carers, Penny also draws out the pleasure and intimacy of fulfilling this role, and makes a compelling case for caring as an act of love.
TW: this episode contains a mention of suicide.
This episode is recorded down a phone line, so apologies for occasional glitches in sound.
Tender is published on 11th June 2020.
Penny's Instagram: @pennywincer
Katherine May's links:
Instagram: @katherinemay_
Twitter: @katherinemay_
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Wintering is out now in the UK, and publishes in the US in December.
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Trailer: The Wintering Sessions with Katherine May
Coming soon: The Wintering Sessions, based on Katherine May's book of the same name. Each episode will feature a conversation with a writer or performer, talking about the times they've fallen through the cracks, felt left out, isolated, rejected or humiliated. Hit subscribe to make sure you catch Episode 1!
This is a podcast of real conversations about the tough times in life: no platitudes, and no glossing over the awful bits. But they'll be full of warmth and honesty, and we'll share what we've learned along the way.
Follow Katherine on Instagram: @katherinemay_ or Twitter: @ katherine may to keep updated.
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