One thing I love about being a criminal and juvenile defense attorney is that I have the privilege of guiding my clients and their families through some of the most challenging times in their lives. People rarely call my office on a good day; instead, they call in crisis. Maybe they just received a summons in the mail, or a detective just knocked on their door. When these challenges arise, my clients often feel confused and out of control; they need my counsel. I thrive in these situations; my 15 years of experience as a criminal and juvenile defense lawyer and my empathetic nature help me guide clients and their families through the stress of a criminal or delinquency case. In times of acute crisis, one is expected to question if the stress they feel will ever pass.
I found Katherine May's memoir, Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, relevant because of my professional role in people's lives during difficult times. May writes about the dark times she has experienced and the societal idea that one should rebound quickly from these trying life events. However, May suggests instead that we lean into "wintering," which she describes as "a fallow period in life when you're cut off from the world, feeling rejected, on the sidelines, blocked from progress, or cast into the role of an outsider." May suggests that rather than suppressing these feelings of stress and sadness, we should lean into the uncertainty and the possibilities for growth in winter's liminal spaces.
I regularly remind my clients that worry and anxiety do nothing to resolve their cases. I ask them to spend less time stressing and more time working on the goals I have laid out for them, which will hopefully effectuate a favorable resolution of their case. I encourage them to prioritize their needs while their case is pending. Until I read May's book, I hadn't realized I had been suggesting a form of "wintering" to my clients.
We all feel undone sometimes, and a criminal or juvenile case is highly stressful for everyone involved. However, after each winter comes spring, and my goal is to guide my clients through the trying times so they can emerge even stronger than before.