What’s New in the Plymouth Library?
The Board of Spiritual Growth has added 33 new book titles and 4 periodicals to the Plymouth Library collection!
The Plymouth Library is located at the end of the Plymouth Gallery hallway inside the door next to the stained glass cross.
All new books are located on the wall rack and the New Book Shelf. Below are reviews of the books you can find in the Plymouth library! Reviews written by members of the Plymouth Library Group on Church Center, click here to join this group.
“Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times” by Katherine May
From Jim Taylor: May’s “Wintering” is a meditation on the necessity of embracing life’s difficult seasons rather than resisting them. Drawing from her own experience of unexpected hardship, including illness, job loss and family struggles, May weaves together personal narrative nature writing and cultural observation to argue that periods of withdrawal and dormancy are not failures but essential phases of human existence. Her prose is lyrical yet accessible, moving seamlessly between descriptions of the natural world’s winter rhythms and intimate reflections on depression, grief and exhaustion. May’s central metaphor of “wintering” reframes struggle as a temporary but vital state one allows for rest, reflection and eventual renewal rather than demanding constant productivity and cheerfulness.
What makes this book particularly powerful is May’s refusal to offer easy answers or forced optimism. Instead, she validates the reader’s experience of hardship while suggesting that there is wisdom in slowing down and honoring our need for retreat. Her explorations of winter traditions from Scandinavian cold-water swimming to the ancient celebration of midwinter festivals provide both practical inspiration and a sense of connection to something larger than individual suffering. “Wintering” is not a self-help book in the conventional sense but rather a compassionate companion for anyone navigating loss, burnout or uncertainty. May’s message is both simple and profound: sometimes the way forward is to stop fighting, accept the season you are in and trust that spring will eventually come.
From Lorna Truck: This book explores the value of quiet, restorative seasons in one’s personal and spiritual life. May describes times in her life when she was “wintering.” Her message: when life gives you lemons, learn to make the most of the disruptions in your daily routines to refocus and make the most of the downtime and periods of unexpected change in your life. This is an especially good book to read this winter.
“Essential Writings” by Joyce Rupp
From Rosemary Jungmann: This book is a collection of the author’s work, drawn from her many books and essays. Rupp’s reflections on home and family, loss and grief, the endless miracles of nature, finding meaning in life, and our universal connections in this magnificent “cosmic dance” lead the reader along delightful and inspiring pathways to a “fuller enjoyment and appreciation of the mystery of life and its inherent goodness in yourself and in all of creation.”
— Courtesy of the Board of Spiritual Growth. Contact Kay Riley (kayjriley@gmail.com).