Synopses & Reviews
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."
Review
Named a Best Book of the Fall by New York Times Book Review, Oprah Daily, Time, Lithub, BookPage, and Publishers Weekly
“The Serviceberry is a profoundly important book about how we might remodel consumer economies around mutuality, generosity, and bountifulness. The time you’ll spend reading this book will, like the time spent picking wild berries, nourish your soul, heart, and mind. I hope to give this book to everybody.” —Anthony Doerr, author of All the Light We Cannot See and Cloud Cuckoo Land
“A meditation on communing with nature and cultivating connections with one another . . . [a] short, thoughtful book . . . Think of The Serviceberry as a subset of Braiding Sweetgrass, expanding on the gift economy theory… She makes a convincing argument, wrapped in beautiful language and vivid imagery… An optimistic book, one that trusts in the ability of people to do the right thing.” —Washington Post
“A small book with a profound impact.” —Angeline Boulley, Good Morning America, "10 Books to Read this Native American Heritage Month"
About the Author
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.