The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World
By Robin Wall Kimmerer and John Burgoyne
Recommended by Lynn in Cape May, NJ and Tom in Minneapolis, MN:
“A short book, almost an essay by this wonderful author, she delves into topics broached in Braiding Sweetgrass in more depth. How we can learn from nature and Native American culture and base our motives an exchange economy based on need instead of greed. Beautifully written like her other writing, I would actually suggest this as an audio book as her voice is as soothing as the concepts she presents.”
“This small book builds on Robin Kimmerer's other works, inviting us to consider the web of relationships that surround us. She uses as her primary metaphor the gracious serviceberry showing us how it can teach us to move toward an active lifetestyle of reciprocity and gift giving in society.”
From the Publisher:
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.”