![Winter Walks](https://cdn.magzter.com/1387480582/1700751636/articles/75_uSWnCt1700817223198/WINTER-WALKS.jpg)
Mary Oliver's poem Snowy Night opens with the image of an owl filling the night air with its call. The fact that Oliver doesn't know the name of the owl is mentioned throughout, woven between imagery of her outstretched hands catching falling snow, the darkness of the trees, and the glittering landscape. The poem closes, 'I wish great welcome to the snow/whatever its severe and comfortless/and beautiful meaning'. In the poem, the beauty of winter is laid bare, yet it has taken me years of wishing away the season before finally finding a way to experience some of this wonder for myself.
The autumn equinox marks the point in the year when the light dissipates like mist, the darkness bleeding into the days like ink into paper. Previously, my thoughts had rapidly followed suit; I wore winter like a thick cloak that grew heavier as the season progressed. It wasn't just the cold that settled into my bones, but a deep sadness along with it, further complicated by traumatic grief experienced mid-December once I became a parent. Within my aching, cold hands that could never get warm, I carried winter's darkness.
For many years during these months, I turned to books for comfort. Which is how it came to be, last December, that I found myself reading Horatio Clare's memoir, The Light In The Dark (Elliot & Thompson Limited, £9.99). In it, Clare chronicles his experience of winter depression whilst depicting the natural world of British winter; its rhythms, its mythology, its magic. And through his lyrical prose, slowly, I began to see winter in all its shadow and light.
This story is from the Christmas 2023 edition of Psychologies UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Christmas 2023 edition of Psychologies UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
![There's No Excuse to Slow Down! - Presenter, podcaster and author Gabby Logan talks to Psychologies about health, happiness, and overcoming hurdles in midlife...](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5262/1814813/FTlG1QWB71725274040301/crp_Logan-Gabby-LoganJill-HalfpennyAdele-Roberts-TV-presenter-Gabby-Logan-perimenopause-HRT-balanced-hormones-book-The-Midpoint-Plan-wealth-of-advice-middle-age-mental-health-hormones-midlife-crises-entering-middle-age-midlife-meltdown.jpg)
There's No Excuse to Slow Down! - Presenter, podcaster and author Gabby Logan talks to Psychologies about health, happiness, and overcoming hurdles in midlife...
Presenter, podcaster and author Gabby Logan talks to Psychologies about health, happiness, and overcoming hurdles in midlife...When TV presenter Gabby Logan started to experience brain fog in her late 40s, struggling to recall the correct word or name on live TV, she initially put it down to tiredness. 'I couldn't quite get that name or articulate in the way I had previously been able to, so I was concerned, but it coincided with lockdown and not doing any telly for a while. I remember feeling quite nervous going back to live TV.' But the former international gymnast soon realised that it was a symptom of perimenopause and promptly went onto HRT, which she says has balanced her hormones.
![Kindle your creativity](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5262/1814813/n8gyAurNp1725277968988/KINDLE-YOUR-CREATIVITY.jpg)
Kindle your creativity
Increase your sense of connection and support your self-expression, urges Caroline Butterwick
![Fast and filling!](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5262/1814813/FkMiuqwOd1725277404765/FAST-AND-FILLING.jpg)
Fast and filling!
Join the high-protein revolution and eat better everyday, with these full-of-flavour recipes from nutritionist Scott Baptie's new cookbook
![What's your optimum?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5262/1814813/0CRuZxrJU1725277035948/WHATS-YOUR-OPTIMUM.jpg)
What's your optimum?
Eating well can cure what ails us, so why is it so hard? Anna Blewett discovers the secrets to a more resolved relationship with food...
!["FRIENDSHIP DELIVERED SO MUCH OF WHAT ROMANTIC LOVE HAD PROMISED"](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5262/1814813/ghrCpKykQ1725276809977/FRIENDSHIP-DELIVERED-SO-MUCH-OF-WHAT-ROMANTIC-LOVE-HAD-PROMISED.jpg)
"FRIENDSHIP DELIVERED SO MUCH OF WHAT ROMANTIC LOVE HAD PROMISED"
Author Marianne Power talks to Psychologies about self-love and the sisterhood...
![Summer break or make!](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5262/1814813/BmqhngxVM1725276560269/SUMMER-BREAK-OR-MAKE.jpg)
Summer break or make!
Hello, lovers! September is here, and the lazy holiday season is behind us. And for many-me included - now feels like the perfect opportunity for a personal kick up the backside, and to embark on a relationship reset. In my work, it's typically women who take the first steps accessing couples' help, but recently (and encouragingly) I've noticed an uptick in men reaching out to get relationship advice and wanting to put the work in.
![Time to spread their wings](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5262/1814813/pe1o1__wS1725276168851/TIME-TO-SPREAD-THEIR-WINGS.jpg)
Time to spread their wings
As the seasons shift and shudder, threatening rhythm and routine, Heidi Scrimgeour embraces September in all its bittersweetness...
![Big wild world](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5262/1814813/GAe6BvGcq1725276064229/BIG-WILD-WORLD.jpg)
Big wild world
Caro Giles fills up her cup with summer colour and awaits autumn wonder...
![Stories to inspire](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5262/1814813/oIblaXXm31725275649801/STORIES-TO-INSPIRE.jpg)
Stories to inspire
I've always collected other women's inspiring stories. On the days I feel overwhelmed by self-doubt or fear, I gather them close. They are like sparks of light, igniting that voice within me that says, if they can do this, so can you...
![Reclaim pleasure in your body](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5262/1814813/21Jo02Ibi1725275399881/RECLAIM-PLEASURE-IN-YOUR-BODY.jpg)
Reclaim pleasure in your body
You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves,' wrote Mary Oliver, in her poem Wild Geese. Children know this innately. Yet, by midlife, we might have long lost the ability to relate to our body as an instrument for pleasure.