The Serviceberry - bookrastinating.com

Audiobook

English language

Published Nov. 19, 2024 by Simon & Schuster Audio.

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 …

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.”

2 editions

Fionnáin reviewed The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer

A gift of a book

4 stars

This book was gifted to me on my birthday last year. Its words are a gift, too, as is most of what Robin Wall Kimmerer offers us.

This very short book puts forward a clear thesis arguing for a gift economy to become normalised, beginning with a gift of serviceberries from the earth and from her neighbour. It draws from Kimmerer's community and friends, from her scientific and Potawotomi knowledge, and from her explorations into economics. It's very brief and filled with quotable sections that put forward a clear and easily understood argument against scarcity economics, and toward abundance and gifting.

My only real issue is that it doesn't give over much space to the small societies exist outside of the hegemonic one, where gift economies often central (my own place is one of these). It's a small complaint though, because Kimmerer still uses peaceful and beautiful words …

This book was gifted to me on my birthday last year. Its words are a gift, too, as is most of what Robin Wall Kimmerer offers us.

This very short book puts forward a clear thesis arguing for a gift economy to become normalised, beginning with a gift of serviceberries from the earth and from her neighbour. It draws from Kimmerer's community and friends, from her scientific and Potawotomi knowledge, and from her explorations into economics. It's very brief and filled with quotable sections that put forward a clear and easily understood argument against scarcity economics, and toward abundance and gifting.

My only real issue is that it doesn't give over much space to the small societies exist outside of the hegemonic one, where gift economies often central (my own place is one of these). It's a small complaint though, because Kimmerer still uses peaceful and beautiful words to convey how she would love to see this grow and flourish.

Subjects

Indigenous Studies
Plants
indigenous knowledge

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