The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer
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Web ID: 20312265“I’ve long believed that the ones who have more jo
Another epic book about the connection between culture and nature... I love Kimmerer's books, I feel as if she is telling me a long lost story. The author uses the abundance of berries to show us there is plenty of fruit for humans and birds from this one bush. But, the ideal of reciprocity and a gift economy is practical only in rural areas, as regarding food. Over the decades we have transitioned from rural to urban. The result is an increasing disconnect from nature. How can we return to our roots and learn to live off of what the earth provides for all? Truly impactful and beautifully written! Thank you to the author and publisher for a copy of this book!
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
5 wise, gentle stars
“Regenerative ecomomies which reciprocate the gift are the only path forward. To replenish the possibility of mutual flourishing, for birds and berries and people, we need an economy that shares the gifts of the Earth, following the lead of our oldest teachers, the plants.” I loved Robin Wall Kimmerer’s The Serviceberry, because the short lyrical essays are a gift to the reader. Instead of the cut-throat scarcity world constantly clamoring for our attention, abundance abounds in a gift economy. Imagine having enough. “Serviceberry teaches us another way to understand relationships and exchange. A Serviceberry economy as our model prompts the opportunity for articulation of the value of gratitude and reciprocity as essential foundations for an economy. Reciprocity – not scarcity.” As in Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer writes beautifully and deeply. Her advice is gentle. “Know the ways of the ones who take care of you, so that you can take care of them…Ask permission before taking. Bide by the answer. Never take the first one. Never take the last. Take only what you need. Take only that which is given…Never waste what you have taken. Share. Give thanks for what you have been given. Give a gift in reciprocity for what you have taken. Sustain the ones who sustain you and the Earth.” Oh, I want to live in a world like this. (I probably need to wait for my next, heaven life.) The cover is gorgeous. I also loved the nature ink drawings. Peaceful. Real. The Serviceberry makes you think, imagine, ponder, and question. Thank you, Robin Wall Kimmerer. Thanks also to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
wonderful resource about the gift economy
(4.5/5 stars) The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer is an extended essay about sharing and the gift economy. I listened to my audio review copy while following along in my physical review copy. I have been such a fan of Robin Wall Kimmerer ever since I read Braiding Sweetgrass several years ago. Her prose really draws me in; it's lyrical but it also feels like you're having lunch with your favorite professor. This is especially prominent in the audiobook, which she reads herself. I found myself shaking my head in agreement so many times throughout this book that I absolutely lost count. My friends and I are very big on sharing our abundance and helping one another. Several of us tend to gardens, and we often share produce, flowers, or even compost or vermicompost with one another. I also loved the shout-out to Little Free Libraries, as I'm a LFL Steward myself. I really appreciated her discussion between "cutthroat" capitalism and the scarcity mindset. I vastly prefer to live my life centered around an abundance mindset. I received a complimentary review copy from Scribner and Simon Audio. All opinions contained herein are my own.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Can Lessons From Nature Save Our Planet?
THE SERVICEBERRY: ABUNDANCE AND RECIPROCITY IN THE NATURAL WORLD is an intriguing, concise (106 pages), non-fiction treatise on economic systems that, believe it or not, reads like a beautiful fable Author Robin Wall Kimmerer, best known for the bestseller BRAIDING SWEETGRASS (which I have not read) asks us to contemplate a different way of living. Instead of a Capitalist society organized around the principle of scarcity where each person strives to own as much as possible, Kimmerer wants us to consider the philosophy of indigenous peoples. Why not a gift economy instead? She argues that natural resources like land and water should never be owned, but instead, should be cared for by the entire community. There ARE already enough resources to provide for all the beings on the planet, if only we could learn to value collective community above the individual. Then, we could simply exchange (or pass on) assets generously - without an agreement for immediate or future reward? The stroller your young child no longer needs is given to a neighbor with a new baby; another neighbor with grown children passes on a bicycle to your child. It may sound overly simplistic or naive but Kimmerer uses the workings of the natural world as a model. Trees use water and sunlight to produce flowers. Those flowers attract insects who, in exchange for nectar, help with pollination. Fruit that grows from this pollination is then eaten by birds who in turn spread seeds to start new trees. In a world facing climate disaster because of human excess and greed, doesn't it make more sense for humans to operate under a similar system of reciprocity? As a noted scientist, educator, and ecologist, Kimmerer has something to teach us all. She offers an appealing vision of a world that is more sustainable. One with greater equity, more sharing, and less waste. The language she uses to describe her vision is lovely. And for a book you can read in less than two hours, it will certainly leave you pondering. For example, It made me wonder how different life might be if European settlers in North America had come NOT with arrogance and White Supremacy, but with an openness to learn from indigenous peoples. THE SERVICEBERRY is not only worth reading but worth giving as a gift.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Would Make a Great Gift
No less profound than Kimmerer’s most well-known book “Braiding Sweetgrass” but in more compact form, focusing more on one general topic. Kimmerer provides an antidote for this world of strife and divide that has the perfect balance of warning and hope for a better world. It’s inspiring.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Another Incredible Book from Robin Wall Kimmerer
Wow, I should not be in the least bit surprised that Robin Wall Kimmerer has written another incredible piece, and yet The Serviceberry absolutely enraptured me and made me consider how I can better incorporate the principles of the gift economy into my life. I think anyone who may, like me, abhor the fact that they are stuck in end stage capitalism, can maybe even feel leaving optimistic on how to make things just even a little better for yourself and your community. Kimmermer presents the serviceberry as an analogy for the gift economy - how the birds who feast on the serviceberry help spread the seeds and allow for the serviceberry to flourish while at the same time ensuring the birds may continue to be nourished; to how people picking the berries may then provide the surplus to their neighbors, who may then make a pie, which is then shared. In the end, the gift economy is about fostering community - "the prosperity of the community grows from the flow of relationships, not the accumulation of goods" She ends the book encouraging folks to determine how they can incorporate the gift economy into their own life, and I promise to continue to find ways to do just that and encourage anyone who could use a little hope to do the same and read The Serviceberry. Thank you so much to NetGalley and to Scribner for the advanced copy.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A Timely Release
Thank you to NetGalley, Scribner, and Robin Wall Kimmerer for the advanced copy. This read came at the exact right time. Robin Wall Kimmerer does a fantastic job of weaving economic observation with botanical and indigenous knowledge. I learned so much and had some of my heart healed. I cannot wait to purchase a finished copy.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
More wisdom from Kimmerer
Robin Wall Kimmerer’s “Braiding Sweetgrass” is one of my most favorite books of the past few years, so I eagerly looked forward to The Serviceberry. Unlike Sweetgrass, The Serviceberry is a short book at only 128 pages; more an extended essay than a complete book. This is fine - it’s well worth reading 128 pages on the important topic of the gift economy and how its principles might fit into our capitalistic society. The gift economy, as Kimmerer explains between bites of sweet berries, is a system where something is given without any expectation of immediate material payment or reward, Think of it like a mother nursing a baby. She gives the gift of food to her baby because that is what is needed, but the baby doesn’t pay her for the food. The mother may receive gifts of wellbeing and happiness, and the gift may also provide other benefits in terms of the mother’s health, but the baby obviously does not come to the mother and offer payment in exchange for food. Perhaps someday that baby may grow up to be a mother giving another baby milk, perhaps not. But in the gift economy, we are led to believe, nature is set up in such a way that there is enough for all, and all will receive what they need. The birds eat the berries, they distribute the seeds and new berries grow.. The confounding question is whether the gift economy has a place in today’s society, and whether it might even find a way to coexist. Kimmerer argues that coexistence is possible, if we acknowledge the gift economy and use it whoever it is possible to do so. As I was reading, I had several ideas of things I could do, and I look forward to exploring this concept more in my life. It made me feel healthy and connected to the world even thinking about it. My hearty thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com