The Stillness of Winter: Sacred Blessings of the Season

by Barbara Mahany

Winter is the coldest time of the year. The days are shorter, and the nights are longer. Deciduous trees are bare of leaves, and some animals hibernate. Christmas is celebrated, one year comes to an end, and a new year begins. In The Stillness of Winter , nationally known journalist and author Barbara Mahany unfurls month by month the winter season exploring the natural world to find the holy within and the holy all around during this sacred season. Expanding on content from Barbara's book Slowing Time , this beautiful two-color gift book is part almanac, scrapbook, field notes, and recipe box, showing readers how to experience the winter world around them with joy and curiosity. A spiritual guide to the winter season. Features short entries for daily reading. Hardcover gift book with 2-color interior and ribbon.

224 pages, Hardcover

Published October 6, 2020

About the author

From the front pages of the Chicago Tribune, to her revered page-two columns, Barbara Mahany has opened her heart and told her stories and the stories of her family’s life that have drawn in thousands of readers for decades. She writes from the well of her Christian-Jewish marriage. Bracingly honest and heart-achingly daring, she explores the sacred mysteries with a voice, recognizable and clear. She is a sought-after speaker, and writing teacher. She lives in Wilmette, Illinois.

She and her husband, Blair Kamin, the Tribune's Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic, have two sons, Will, a senior at Amherst College, and Teddy, an eighth grader. Slowing Time: Seeing the Sacred Outside Your Kitchen Door (Abingdon Press, October 2014) is her first book. During the 2012-2013 academic year, when her husband was a Nieman Journalism Fellow at Harvard University, Mahany and her family lived in Cambridge, MA. Mahany, originally a pediatric oncology nurse and short on undergraduate humanities courses, indulged as a Nieman affiliate in as many literature, poetry, African-American history, global health, religion, and long-form narrative writing courses as she could possibly consume at Harvard College and Harvard Divinity School.

Reviews

[Jami M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an introspective, quiet book that focuses on December, January, February and March. Each chapter has personal stories from the author’s life that have filled each of these months with a sense of purpose and meaning for her. There are also recipes and a list of monthly blessings/gratitude activities to do that encourage or invite the reader to experience the beauty of winter.

The author references her faith and relationship with god quite a bit. I didn’t mind this too much because it wasn’t heavy handed and feels appropriate considering Christmas falls in December. Some may find this book a bit precious in its sentimentality about the traditions of winter, but I liked it. I particularly enjoyed the importance of nature to the overall mood of the book. It’s earnest and rather cozy, making it a lovely winter read. Not a huge impact in my Winter Reading Challenge but I am looking forward to pulling it out again next December.

[Momma Leighellen’s Book Nook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not really sure what category this book goes into, but I think "musings" describes it best. And I truly love it.

It felt like an extended Advent calendar. But instead of counting down the days to Christmas, it meanders through the winter season. It includes thoughts, prayers, recipes, and poetry. Sometimes it feels like sitting down with your favorite Great Aunt for tea as she disperses wisdom from a lifetime of lessons. Other times it read more like streaming conscious. One part bible study, one part journal, one part recipe book...the best way to understand the punch this book packs is to experience it yourself.

I will continue to enjoy this through the season.

[John Cochran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timely read for the dark December of the pandemic. Gives great solace and inspiration.

[Letitia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Read it slowly with the corresponding month and was sad to finish it. Each section was a love letter to winter and for this summer girl, it was a hard sell but I fell into the enchantment. Another gift of words from Barbara!

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book to slowly read over three months, don't read straight through, but savor a couple paragraphs every evening under a warm throw and a hot cup of tea!!

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A simply beautiful book of reflections, recipes, and blessings intended to accompany one's journey through the dreary winter months. Mahany's language is poetic, her observations reveal the sacred in everyday like.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful book, with delightful illustrations, that enacts the hush of snow.

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lyrical reflections on the season. Balm for the winter soul. Best enjoyed with a cup of tea.

[Marianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect book to finish reading while in the midst of a winter storm.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and necessary.

[Missey Wilhelm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wss a winter read to help recovery from a fall at Christmas and it was a blessing of peaceful reflection and delightful winter recipes!