Scribner Book Company
The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World
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An Instant New York Times Bestseller
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 ensures 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.
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Book Details
ISBN:
9781668072240
EAN:
1668072246
Binding:
Hardcover
Pages:
128
Authors:
Robin Wall Kimmerer
Illustrators:
John Burgoyne
Publisher:
Scribner Book Company
Published Date: 2024-19-11
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This beautiful little book gives you plenty to think about. The illustrations complement the text perfectly and help convey it's sweet message. I expected it to be a bit longer, but it's the expansion of an essay/article done previously.I love the author's insights based on her Native American heritage. There is so much wisdom there. The core message of the analogy to the serviceberry is reflected in the subtitle, "Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World." Everything we have and need comes from the Earth as a gift. We should take only what we need. Greed and hoarding are not how nature operates. When do we attain the feeling of "enoughness?"It's message is also nicely expressed in Chief Seattle's quote, "Take only memories, leave only footprints" from a speech he gave on honoring the environment.Sharing builds friends and community. Giving back benefits both the donor and the recipient. She states, "Gratitude and reciprocity are the currency of a gift economy, and they have the remarkable property of multiplying with every exchange, their energy concentrating as they pass from hand to hand, a truly renewable resource."Indigenous cultures had a beautiful concept of community and taking care of one other. Small communities often operate in a similar manner. Each of us could start with our families by instilling the concept of giving, reciprocity, and gratitude, then expanding it to friends, neighbors, and relatives.After all, it's the family where such beliefs should begin.
Nice little book, perfect for reminding us what's important. If you are interested in further reading, and not afraid of a little economics jargon, may I suggest looking into the research of Dr. Herman Daly and Joshua Farley.
Touching with healthy teachings, a joy to read.
This is a great addition to your home nature library. It also makes a great gift.
A friend recommended The Serviceberry after I raved about a beautiful novel I read entitled The Overstory. That friend knows that I enjoy planting things in my garden that butterflies, birds, squirrels, rabbits, hares, insects, and even toads chow down upon (I wish they would leave my hibiscus plants alone as something likes to chew the stems of the buds so I don't get flowers). My friend thought I would enjoy reading The Serviceberry because she knows it is important to me to be a better steward of the earth and its inhabitants. And I was intrigued with the title because another friend who resides in a colder climate, always posts when the Serviceberry trees bloom and produce their fruit. His posts are so interesting that I need to research if they will grow and produce fruit where I live.I am about half way through The Serviceberry and to be true, I don't understand why it was so highly recommended. I am not a biologist or botanist nor an economist. I recently retired from a career in which I wrote a great deal. I understand the importance of good editing. This book rambles and rambles and jumps into what at times feels like stream of consciousness (or perhaps my mind is wondering as the writing is just not very interesting to me). The author mixes her heritage but thus far has not enriched the book with what would likely be fascinating episodes of what she explores. I keep thinking rather than a book, this might have been an article for some magazine or journal or some type of essay. While I will finish it (as its not very long)...I find myself nodding off after a few pages.I feel bad. I would love to write a book one day about a topic that I think important - but I realize again what makes a fine writer - its more than just a vision, more than just a thesis, more than the discipline of writing. This is because writing is such an important art. And while art is in the eye of the beholder-from my vantage, a great writer has the ability to capture the reader so that the reader doesn't want to let go. What I enjoy about the characters a good writer develops - be they mammal, animal, plant, or some other form of creation, is that I want to know the characters. It might be me and the way I read, but this book lacks the spark I like to see when reading.
