Not unexpected, beautifully written poetic story about nature and all it has to offer us. I love Kimmerer's writing and can not wait to share this book with my book club and gardening friends so we can share our thoughts together. I have serviceberries planted in my yard, and at my community gym, and I am so in love with the ideas that Kimmerer shares about a gift economy.

The title alone caught my attention because I have a serviceberry tree in my yard. Reading this book made me appreciate this tree even more. I loved the author's writing and I did not want this book to end. This will be a book that I will keep reading over and over again. I love learning about reciprocity, the gift economy and indigenous wisdom as it relates to the bounty of a serviceberry tree. I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

I really enjoyed The Serviceberry. The book is pretty short, but still quite enjoyable. Kimmerer paints a compelling argument for the including of a gifting economy and paints beautiful stories via the natural world around us, elucidating the simplicity of the idea and the practicality and wide-reaching benefits of its implementation. I would definitely recommend this book.

A thought provoking book meant to read and shared, as Kimmerer her thoughts with us. Our world is a much better place for us and our children when we use our "gifts" to the benefit of those around us. I've believed and practiced this tenet my whole life and taught the same to others. THE SERVICEBERRY is a reminder of the good that comes from it.

Robin Wall Kimmerer is known to be a seismic writer, the kind of writer who will clarify the world for you by tilting it back toward nature, healing, toward something refreshing and lovely to dream about, something even lovelier to act upon.
This book is the book I needed to read. The climate anxiety/grief is real, folks! So many of us feel it in this age of catastrophe, of extinction, of ecological destruction. It really feels like relief to read Kimmerer’s words. It feels good to plan for a better future, to better understand what actions we can take in order to bring that better future nearer. This book is a roadmap toward such a future and in it all routes circle back to reciprocal relationship. I want everyone to read this book!! I leave this reading experience feeling motivated and hopeful, despite everything.

Exactly what I would expect from Robin Wall Kimmerer! The writing is beautiful and the point is prescient. A quick, but necessary read. And the illustrations are stunning!

What a beautiful collection of essays! Robin Wall Kimmerer once again writes a beautiful, meaningful and moving book. I love her thought provoking stories, they really inspire me to be a more thoughtful person.

Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of the fantastic "Braiding Sweetgrass," returns to provide a wonderful, bite-sized meditation on how our current systems based heavily upon individual hyper-consumption isn’t all that there is, and how the humble serviceberry points towards alternatives based upon gift-giving and reciprocity. In other words, Kimmerer show us that a genuinely better world is possible, and this clearly-delivered and uplifting reminder. And in an era where things only seem to get more fraught and stressful with every passing day, it's a message that frankly could not come at a better time. "The Serviceberry" may appear short, but I found that this short read provided a hearty amount of food for thought, and packed a heavily hopeful punch.

Kimmerer, the Indigenous scientist who authored the best-selling “Braiding Sweetgrass” returns using serviceberries, "small, hard fruits, which tend toward dryness, and only once in a while is there a tree with sweet offerings” as a jumping off point for her meditation on nature and its reciprocity as a solution to our failing human systems. Kimmerer considers a gift economy: humans embracing responsibility, recognizing “enoughness” or hyper-consumption, learning from healthy and biodiverse ecosystems, and cultivating gratitude, community bonds and mutual well-being (versus the capitalist-driven, market economy culture of scarcity and relationships that extract and destroy). A deeply important book that is a gentle call for a more ethical economy. Thank you Scribner and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this slim gem of a book that should be required reading.

Like many other I readers I was very impressed with Kimmerer’s last book Braiding Sweetgrass, so I had been looking forward to her next book. For me, it didn’t reach those heights. It felt more dry and repetitive, despite it’s short length. Her writing is still solid and she made interesting points about a giving economy versus a market economy, using the serviceberry tree as the centerpiece. She explains that “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.” These concepts are interesting but not enough to completely engage me. Once again the illustrations by John Burgoyne are beautiful.

I love Robin Wall Kimmerer’s writing! This is a beautiful short essay on serviceberries, gift economies, and musings on how we can move toward more gratitude and reciprocity. It has inspired me to consider ways I can participate more in gift economies on our farm and beyond. You’ll find beautiful illustrations throughout as well!

I highly recommend!

Don’t be fooled by the page length of this book. This book is tiny but is mighty. I have heard phenomenal things about Braiding Sweetgrass and about Dr. Kimmerer. This latest edition is no exception. Kimmerer has a way with the language that left me breathless. You will come away from this book with a better understanding of the natural world and with hope for a better tomorrow.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Netgalley and Scribner for sending me this ebook for review consideration.

Botanist and Professor of Environmental Biology Robin Wall Kimmerer returns with another accomplished literary contribution to our greater understanding of the natural world (and human nature itself), “The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World” (Scribner, 2024).

With her characteristic wisdom, curiosity, and compassion (and a tinge of frustration at rampant consumerism and capitalism), Wall Kimmerer presents the serviceberry tree as a hallmark of a gift economy.

As a member of The Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she offers plentiful examples of mutualism and denotes the benefits of sharing excess (gifts) for free.

A #1 “New York Times” bestselling author of “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants,” Wall Kimmerer still speaks to those themes, but on a more focused level, on the benefits and highlights of gifting economies on the environment, our happiness, and sustainable relationships throughout continuing climate change.

Readers of John McPhee, Suzanne Simard, Tyson Yunkaporta, and Merlin Sheldrake should enjoy this book.

Thank you to Robin Wall Kimmerer, Scribner, and NetGalley for the eARC.

This definitely felt like a “for such a time as this” book while I was reading it. Kimmerer couldn’t have known how the election would turn out a week before her book release, but it feels like she did.

If this was fiction, we would call it a novella, but I’m not sure what you call nonfiction this length. Regardless, if you’ve read Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer’s style will be familiar to you. I appreciated the deep sense of peace throughout the work and how it was thought provoking without being preachy.

In these times, thinking about the gift economy and stewardship I can effect around me is centering and helpful.

A common definition of economics is the study of scarcity. Resources are necessarily limited and those that are scarce but necessary or desired are worth more than those that are common and abundant. Robin Wall Kimmerer uses this expanded essay to describe an alternative economic system, one of gifting and reciprocity, to demonstrate an alternative economic system and a potential society which we could live in and thrive within if only we work together as a collective unit.

This was honestly one of the most beautiful and influential books I have read in years. I am almost embarrassed to say that I haven't yet read Braiding Sweetgrass despite having bought it years ago. Kimmerer is the guiding voice combining botany, biology, and indigenous knowledge into an accessible and engaging package.

Being just over 100 pages, I was engaged with this essay from the very beginning. I couldn't stop reading it and finished it within 24 hours. I had just attended a neighborhood book club where our topic focused on public goodwill to strangers and this book highlighted the importance and benefits of giving back to society and those around us. I can't help but now recommend this book to every neighborhood, especially my own.

Within the pages of this book, Kimmerer argues that societies can, and have, thrived from a reciprocity mindset. Throughout the novel, she uses the serviceberry as an ecological example, where berries are a model for energy transfer between organisms. There is an abundance that can be shared and humans can share with the natural world and give back to our neighbors. Essentially, everyone has their own abundance and by gifting to others, others should return in kind. Imagine what a wonderful world we would live in under such a system. Kimmerer outlines various ways in which the average person could interact within such a system now, like being part of Buy Nothing Groups or contributing to Free Little Libraries. Or even stuffing neighbors' mailboxes with excess zucchini.

After reading this book I was both inspired and proud of my neighbors. I was filled with love for others and nature. Kimmerer's prose was beautiful, convincing, and elegant beyond anything I have experienced before. I cannot recommend this book enough and encourage everyone to read it for the sake of society. We truly need it now.

*I would like to thank the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

5.0 Stars - I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you Net Galley and Scribner for this ARC. But also thank you to Dr. Robin Wall Kimmer, the author, for giving us readers an essay that is not only inviting and intriguing; but one that takes the reader on a journey of imaginingg the possibilities of an economic structure that goes beyond our current one.

For being a shorter read, Dr. Robin Wall Kimmer was able to pack a punch with the amount of knowledge shared. I absolutely loved the premise of the essay and how a natural and familiar part of Dr. Robin Wall Kimmer’s life (the serviceberry) was used to get the message across to readers of reciprocity and the importance of gift economies. The messages of this essay goes against what we are taught in modern society of abundance and overconsumption. The essay lays out alternate ideas in a way that are easily understood. Whereas some books on economy can feel daunting and unintelligible.

At the end of the essay I was left with the feeling of needing to slow down, appreciate the things the world has to offer and participate and give to my smaller community. These things may seem self-explanatory; however, it is very easy to get caught up in the next fad, to be selfish and take and take and not think of the repercussions or longstanding impacts there are on society because of that, such as scarcity. Starting at a smaller level such as Dr. Robin Wall Kimmer talked about, like little things such as free libraries, gift exchange of natural goods between neighbors and expanding from that starting point seems to be the best route to implement the gift economy in hopes of it expanding to be the overarching economic model.

A timely and important little book about the importance of the gift economy and reciprocity always, and especially now. Highly recommend. It’s under 200 pages and I read it in 2 sittings. One I wish everyone could and would read. It will get you thinking about how you can contribute to a better community and world.

The Serviceberry builds on the ideas of reciprocity and gratitude in nature that Robin Wall Kimmerer introduces in Braiding Sweetgrass.

The author asks how we can stray away from capitalism and its focus on the individual and mass consumption to create a community based system that focuses on taking only what you need while also caring for nature and the people around us.

The Serviceberry is a great introduction to Robin Wall Kimmerer's work, but it is also a great companion to Braiding Sweetgrass . These little essays explore ways we can learn from nature and indigenous knowledge to move towards a gift economy which would change the capitalistic ideas that have controlled Western ways of thinking about community and nature for far too long. Like Braiding Sweetgrass , this book introduces you to ideas and ways of thinking about the natural world that may be new to you. Its focus on nature, gratitude, and community are heartwarming and give the reader a sense of hope. The author presents ideas of what we can do to better interact with nature and the people around us in ways that would be beneficial to everyone. The book also has beautiful illustrations throughout.

This book would be a great gift during this upcoming holiday season. I recommend this to nature lovers, but also anyone interested in bettering the world and living with a sense of gratitude.

e-ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A nice reminder of what we can learn from the land and Native practices. It was a bit jarring to read right after Trump's reelection because it appears we are moving further away from doing that. Fans of Braiding Sweetgrass will want to read this but it would also make a great gift for anyone who cares about the natural world.

We live in a time when every choice matters. The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer

“When an economic system actively destroys what we love, isn’t it time for a different system?” Robin Wall Kimmerer asks us in The Serviceberry. She contrasts the Indigenous idea of a gift economy, where one views abundance as a gift to be shared, to the market economy that allows wealth to be privately held by a few.

Her illustration is the native serviceberry tree, whose berries were a staple that Native Americans used in pemmican. “Imagine a fruit that tastes like a Blueberry crossed with the satisfying heft of an Apple, a touch of rosewater, and a minuscule crunch of almond-flavored seeds.” Birds and animals rely on the berries.

She tells of a woman whose Serviceberry trees were so productive, she gave the berries away, an example of a gift economy where wone with an abundance shares with others. She references public libraries as another example of a gift economy, for the books belong to everyone.

Take only what you need, what is given. Never take over half or waste what you have been given. This teaching is contrary to a market economy focusing on buying more, waste actually a positive: buy cheap, toss, buy more, keep the factories going.

I participate on a social media site for our city where we give stuff away. People get what they need, and items are recycled and not trashed. A few years back, our apple trees were so productive we couldn’t keep up. We made applesauce and apple butter and froze them and baked. We have given away boxes of apples. Our two mile square city has a half dozen Little Free Libraries. My weekly quilt group brings fabric and patterns and supplies to give away on the ‘free table” and we often share quilts we entirely made with fabric found there.

People do want to share.

It will take a revolution, or worse, to change the market economy. But we can each personally choose to live with gratitude, sharing what we have.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley.