Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age is Katherine May’s newest work of nonfiction, and it is just as enchanting, soothing, and necessary as its title suggests. Just as she did in her 2020 bestseller Wintering, May uses her personal experience to tap into a universal need of our current time. In her first book, it was a craving for rest and retreat; in Enchantment, it is the need for a re-anchoring, a renewed connection with the world around us. She starts off by relating how, following the pandemic, she couldn’t seem to read a page of a book without her attention being hijacked by anxiety. Her normal daily routine left her feeling unsettled and empty (similar to Adam Grant’s languishing), and she realized she needed to wake up her senses, to find things that make her feel wonder again. May instinctively turns to nature, swimming in the ocean, going on hiking pilgrimages, bee keeping, and star gazing, and along the way she learns that enchantment isn’t found in the sublime or the awe-inspiring, it’s found in the pursuit. Magic can be found in whatever we give our attention to, as long as we seek it out with respect, curiosity, and an open mind.

I’ve been eagerly awaiting this book ever since I heard Katherine May was writing something new. Wintering made such an impact on me, offering reassurance and light in the thick of the pandemic, and I knew Enchantment would do the same. Not only does May offer wise insight with her emotional research, leaving me (and I’m sure all her readers) feeling so seen, but she also writes in such a poetic style. While reading May’s writing I feel the need to really savor the words; my copy is dog-eared too many times to count so that I can go back and reread especially beautiful passages. Funnily enough, the main message of Enchantment is similar to that of The Phantom Tollbooth, though of course expressed in very different formats. I didn’t intentionally read them close together, but I’m glad I did — one reinforces the other, and the pair has left me feeling refreshed and inspired. Enchantment is a joy and just as wonderful as I hoped it would be.

I’d recommend this book to…

• Anyone looking for a tender, charming, meditative read… it’s similar in tone to Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
• Anyone who loves nonfiction that researches emotions in a very personal way… it’s similar in style to Quietby Susan Cain
• Anyone who wants to reengage with the world… it’s similar in theme toIf This Isn’t Nice, What Is? by Kurt Vonnegut