I am in the throes of caring for people I love and this book could not be more timely for me. Having said that, I did approach it with a modicum of caution because I am feeling a touch fragile around the notion of caring. I was sure, having read Katherine's other books that it was never going to be a list of things telling me what I might want to do, but I knew there would be feelings involved and sometimes care is easier when you can cauterise some of that. I need not have worried.

This weaves a narrative between the deeply personal and something more universal and mythic. It honours what caring is and how it shapes us without ever getting soppy or sentimental. It offers clear paths and sightlines in a world that is so often messy and charged. I found it calming and reassuring not because my situation is in any way similar to what Katherine experienced, but because of the way she communicates so simply what is so difficult and nebulous, and that feels like truth to me.

I can’t find the words to say how much I loved this! Intensely beautiful, magical book on the hard work of care during illness and healing, and in trying to keep life soft for those you love when everything is hard. I love Katherine May’s work regardless, but this really is something special. She weaves her story in with the natural world and myth, and she’s eloquent and empathetic on how care is of the ultimate importance to us all, and how it is sadly invisible and disregarded.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An outstanding, poetic memoir. There is so much nature imagery taking you through a very personal story of being a caretaker, woven with themes of feminism and the need for community support. I read this in less than 24 hours and absolutely loved it. It was so refreshing to read something so lyrical. Would 10000% recommend this book.

Huge thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Katherine May for this ARC.

I have loved every single one of Katherine May’s books, and her podcast, so I couldn’t have been more delighted to receive this ARC. It also means my expectations were high going into this book, and it didn’t disappoint.

This a beautiful book, and hard to summarise. It’s essentially a memoir of a very difficult time in the author’s life as she is pinned between caring responsibilities - for her mum, her very ill husband, and her child - and meditations on the act of caring and analogues in the natural world. Like in all of her books, May manages to put ineffable experiences into words, and has the most beautiful and unique ways of expressing universal experiences. It shows a huge amount of research too, with references from classical literature, music, science, theology woven through it. But it is not a dense or didactic read - it is like having a chat with a well-read but down to earth friend. For anyone worn down by caring responsibilities, this will be a cathartic read.

I loved this book and will recommend it without hesitation to others.

I loved this book. It's so beautifully written and expands out from the situation of caring for others and yourself, via Katherine's own traumatic experiences, to more universal themes. The spider metaphor throughout is very poignant and thought provoking. I always find Katherine's books very relevant, this one more so as it expands on caring for children, partner and elderly parents at the same time as trying to carve some space for yourself. I love the nasturtium cover too.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC of Tending! Katherine May is an exquisite writer, and Tending is a beautiful book. All the lyricism of Wintering but with additional urgent reflections on the care system.