Robin Wall Kimmerer
The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World
The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World
The Perennial Homestead
12505 Ponca Rd
Omaha NE 68112
United States
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From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Braiding Sweetgrass, a bold and inspiring vision for how to orient our lives around gratitude, reciprocity, and community, based on the lessons of the natural world.
As Indigenous scientist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most? Our economy is rooted in scarcity, competition, and the hoarding of resources, and we have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love. Meanwhile, the serviceberry’s relationship with the natural world is an embodiment of reciprocity, interconnectedness, and gratitude. The tree distributes its wealth—its abundance of sweet, juicy berries—to meet the needs of its natural community. And this distribution insures its own survival. As Kimmerer explains, “Serviceberries show us another model, one based upon reciprocity, where wealth comes from the quality of your relationships, not from the illusion of self-sufficiency.”
As Elizabeth Gilbert writes, Robin Wall Kimmerer is “a great teacher, and her words are a hymn of love to the world.” The Serviceberry is an antidote to the broken relationships and misguided goals of our times, and a reminder that “hoarding won’t save us, all flourishing is mutual.”
Robin Wall Kimmerer is donating her advance payments from this book as a reciprocal gift, back to the land, for land protection, restoration, and justice.
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Braiding Sweetgrass, a bold and inspiring vision for how to orient our lives around gratitude, reciprocity, and community, based on the lessons of the natural world.
As Indigenous scientist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most? Our economy is rooted in scarcity, competition, and the hoarding of resources, and we have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love. Meanwhile, the serviceberry’s relationship with the natural world is an embodiment of reciprocity, interconnectedness, and gratitude. The tree distributes its wealth—its abundance of sweet, juicy berries—to meet the needs of its natural community. And this distribution insures its own survival. As Kimmerer explains, “Serviceberries show us another model, one based upon reciprocity, where wealth comes from the quality of your relationships, not from the illusion of self-sufficiency.”
As Elizabeth Gilbert writes, Robin Wall Kimmerer is “a great teacher, and her words are a hymn of love to the world.” The Serviceberry is an antidote to the broken relationships and misguided goals of our times, and a reminder that “hoarding won’t save us, all flourishing is mutual.”
Robin Wall Kimmerer is donating her advance payments from this book as a reciprocal gift, back to the land, for land protection, restoration, and justice.
Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants as well as Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses. Kimmerer is a 2022 MacArthur Fellow. She lives in Syracuse, New York, where she is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology, and the founder of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment.
John Burgoyne is a member of the New York Society of Illustrators and an alumni of Massachusetts College of Art. John has won over 100 awards in the United States and Europe including Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, Hatch Awards, Graphis, Print, One Show, New York Art Directors Club and Clio. His work can be found at JohnTBurgoyneIllustration.com.
Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants as well as Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses. Kimmerer is a 2022 MacArthur Fellow. She lives in Syracuse, New York, where she is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology, and the founder of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment.
John Burgoyne is a member of the New York Society of Illustrators and an alumni of Massachusetts College of Art. John has won over 100 awards in the United States and Europe including Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, Hatch Awards, Graphis, Print, One Show, New York Art Directors Club and Clio. His work can be found at JohnTBurgoyneIllustration.com.
Named a Best Book of the Fall by New York Times Book Review, Oprah Daily, Time, Lithub, BookPage, and Publishers Weekly
Named a Best Book of the Year by Scientific American, Forbes, Library Journal, and Indigo
"A beautiful meditation on abundance, reciprocity and community, drawing inspiration from indigenous wisdom, and inviting us to reimagine what we value most." —The Guardian
"The Serviceberry picks up where Braiding Sweetgrass left off, once again using the interconnectedness of nature as a guiding light to reimagine a path forward for the future… The message of The Servicceberry is clear: Our individualistic, pro-competition, consumption-focused capitalist economy is inherently flawed and is leading us down a destructive and lonely path…Kimmerer creates a bighearted version of millions of little circular economies in which people learn how to foster kinship, 'recognize enoughness,' and appreciate what Mother Earth provides.” —The San Francisco Chronicle
"The Serviceberry is a psalm for the natural world and a profound exploration of how we can reframe our relationship with nature and with others through gift economies… Kimmerer’s blend of scientific observation, memoir, and philosophical reflection makes The Serviceberry a compelling read that transcends mere ecological treatise. As our planet grapples with environmental challenges, Kimmerer’s vision of a nonextractive, reciprocal relationship with nature offers a necessary alternative." —Sierra Magazine
Named a Best Book of the Fall by New York Times Book Review, Oprah Daily, Time, Lithub, BookPage, and Publishers Weekly
Named a Best Book of the Year by Scientific American, Forbes, Library Journal, and Indigo
"A beautiful meditation on abundance, reciprocity and community, drawing inspiration from indigenous wisdom, and inviting us to reimagine what we value most." —The Guardian
"The Serviceberry picks up where Braiding Sweetgrass left off, once again using the interconnectedness of nature as a guiding light to reimagine a path forward for the future… The message of The Servicceberry is clear: Our individualistic, pro-competition, consumption-focused capitalist economy is inherently flawed and is leading us down a destructive and lonely path…Kimmerer creates a bighearted version of millions of little circular economies in which people learn how to foster kinship, 'recognize enoughness,' and appreciate what Mother Earth provides.” —The San Francisco Chronicle
"The Serviceberry is a psalm for the natural world and a profound exploration of how we can reframe our relationship with nature and with others through gift economies… Kimmerer’s blend of scientific observation, memoir, and philosophical reflection makes The Serviceberry a compelling read that transcends mere ecological treatise. As our planet grapples with environmental challenges, Kimmerer’s vision of a nonextractive, reciprocal relationship with nature offers a necessary alternative." —Sierra Magazine
Publisher : Scribner (November 19, 2024)
Language : English
Hardcover : 128 pages
ISBN-10 : 1668072246
ISBN-13 : 978-1668072240
Item Weight : 6.6 ounces
Dimensions : 5 x 0.7 x 7 inches
Publisher : Scribner (November 19, 2024)
Language : English
Hardcover : 128 pages
ISBN-10 : 1668072246
ISBN-13 : 978-1668072240
Item Weight : 6.6 ounces
Dimensions : 5 x 0.7 x 7 inches
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