An Instant New York Times Bestseller
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer offers a bold and inspiring perspective on how we can shift our lives to focus on gratitude, reciprocity, and community, drawing wisdom from the natural world.
In this insightful book, Kimmerer reflects on the lessons she learns while harvesting serviceberries alongside the birds. She explores the ethic of reciprocity at the core of the gift economy. She asks, how can we draw from Indigenous wisdom and the world of plants to rethink our values? In a world where our economy is driven by scarcity, competition, and the accumulation of resources, we have allowed harmful systems to take control, to the detriment of what we hold dear. In contrast, the serviceberry’s relationship with nature offers a model of reciprocity, interconnectedness, and gratitude. By sharing its abundance with its community, the serviceberry tree ensures its own survival. As Kimmerer explains, “Serviceberries show us another model, one where wealth is defined by the quality of our relationships, not by the illusion of self-sufficiency.”
As Elizabeth Gilbert notes, Robin Wall Kimmerer is “a great teacher, and her words are a hymn of love to the world.” The Serviceberry offers an antidote to the broken connections and misplaced values of today’s society. It reminds us that “hoarding won’t save us—flourishing is mutual.”
In a powerful act of reciprocity, Kimmerer is donating her advance from this book to land protection, restoration, and justice efforts.
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