Midwinter: A Journey Through a Season

by Michael Harding

On frosty nights, as he sits by a flickering fire, Michael Harding withdraws into the stillness of winter and begins to reckon with age and death.

As stories emerge from the shadows, we meet a young boy whose arrival brings hope, but whose journey will know winter's path. November is a rainstorm, December a bleak twilight, but as January dawns and the ice
thaws, the fragile light of love penetrates the dark, bringing beauty to the earth and making new beginnings possible.

In writing of shadowed beauty, Midwinter is a poignant exploration of a season of loss, and the glimpses of hope that can follow even the longest nights.

Snow falls within.
Blanketing the heart in peace.
Winter's dream takes hold.

This book is dedicated to everyone at Pieta House, a suicide prevention charity. This is a work of non-fiction apart from the character of Martin who is fictional but whose story reflects the heartache and loss so many families endure every year.

197 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 9, 2025

Reviews

[my.bookshelf.87 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Midwinter: A Journey Through a Season explores how isolating and lonely wintertime can be for many people. The author uses a combination of memories, fiction, haiku verses and artwork to get across the feeling of a bleak winter to the reader. (The artwork by Enagh Farrell is beautifully done).

Difficult topics are talked about, such as death and suicide. It won't be an easy read for everyone. Definitely not one to read if you're feeling depressed! This was a strange one, not sure how I feel about it.

[Claire Yeates · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth listening to on audiobook - beautifully narrated.

[Siobhán Mc Laughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful reflective and poignant musings on winter from Michael Harding, who I do enjoy listening to. The book is scattered with both joy and melancholy, supplemented by the author's haiku and some really wonderful artwork. A special seasonal companion.

[Tdkerst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pensive and penetrating reflections on the bleakness of winter and the sprigs of hope that it offers. Even in the darkest night of the year, "we find light in the shadows," Harding writes. These are the ruminations of an old man sitting beside a fire looking forward as well as back, offering hope and renewal with each new season. Laden with bleakness, it's not an easy read, but it's worth the journey.

[Paddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely slow read over the Christmas/New Year period. Harding’s writing and imagery are really lovely as are the beautiful illustrations in the book. Despite the book’s melancholy tone and depictions of loss, loneliness and death, it ends with a sense of optimism as Winter passes and gives way to Spring. The circle of life.

[Emmet Forde · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely read over Christmas break. His eloquence of expression is endearing and draws me back time and time again. An all-to-familiar story of rural hardship and seasonal melancholy intertwined with a thoughtful observation of the slower pace of winter and how the world changes with it

[Lindamac Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just lovely

[Ted Nealon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful though flawed through repetition and meanders - rather like life itself Is it a new artform or the death throes of Michael Harding's memoirs - I'm undecided Read any, or all, of his other books first.