Thanks to #Simon & Schuster and #NetGalley for letting me read an eGalley version of the book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved [book:Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants|17465709] but it is a little long and wandering; this book is shorter -- really a long essay -- and more focused, which is very helpful, because it needs to reach a wide audience.

Taking the Serviceberry (known by many names, Saskatoon, Juneberry, Shadbush, Sugerplum among them) as an example of, as the subtitle says "Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World," Kimmerer describes an economy that might replace our current disastrous extractive economy with a more eco-friendly gift economy.

She has written about Native American societies and their use of the gifts from the land in Braiding Sweetgrass, and she returns to that theme, but this time she is focused not only on the natural world, but also on the science of economics. There is now an emerging ecological economics theory that suggests scarcity is not the driving force of economics in our world; it is actually a construct, and it is not serving us well.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It's a quick read and beautifully illustrated, but it also provides a lot of food for thought. Hopefully it will inspire many to become involved in a different relationship to the Earth and each other. Pre-order it now. Publication date is Nov. 19 -- just in time for holiday giving.

This meditate quick read left me looking forward to finally seeing serviceberries on my tree in the backyard. Once I finished reading the book, I looked up a recipe for serviceberry pie. Informative and appreciative read about the history of the Serviceberry, a tree I picked up for free during Arbor Day two years ago that is growing quickly, and hopefully will be feeding the bird next summer.

This book was short but clear in its message. It directly indicts the scarcity mindset as a cultural construct of capitalism and shows how antithetical to nature this mindset is. As our climate catastrophe grows nearer, the book is timely and urgent. The guidance is simple and easy to understand "Sustain the ones who sustain you and the Earth will last forever." I found the framing of "the cannibalization of life for accumulation of money" particularly compelling. I don't think this book will create a groundswell of change, but for those of us with our minds open, it will help to move us forward in the right direction.

I will return and update this review to include links to public social posts two weeks before publication date, as requested.

Delighted to get my hands on something new from Kimmerer! This is a compact book that you can read very, very quickly—and then think about long after you turn the final page.

Robin Wall Kimmerer did it again! What an absolutely crucial essay. Everyone should read The Serviceberry!

Touching on themes of abundance, reciprocity, and gift economies that were mentioned in her previous books, Kimmerer explores capitalism and economics through the lens of a Serviceberry. Seviceberry, or Saskatoon as it's often called where I live in Oregon, is a plant that gives freely and in abundance. Kimmerer explores how we as people might do so too. Through farm stands, Little Free Libraries, helping out neighbors, and love the idea grows throughout the pages.

I didn't expect to be brought to tears by a book barely 100 pages long, but just like she did with both Braiding Sweetgrass and Gathering Moss I found myself crying. How have we let it get this far? How do we continue to fail humanity as a whole? Kimmerer reminds us that it's not just "the System" that is doing it to us, but that "the System" is run by real people. People with names, people with addresses.

I highly recommend picking up a physical copy so you can see the gorgeous illustrations by John Burgoyne! What a gem of a book, that I hope makes it into every library, every economics classroom, and is shared and gifted far and wide.

A short and sweet look at how we as individuals and communities can disrupt the hold that capitalism has on seemingly everything. I love Kimmerer's comparisons to the Serviceberry trees and how they help circulate resources for the betterment of all species around it instead of hoarding like capitalistic economies demand. It made for a lovely reading experience as she explored how we as people and neighbors can share our own excess and expect help in return in a form yet unknown to us at present. "I store my [extra] meat in the belly of my brother" was such a good way to encapsulate the understanding of community as protective and comforting when we care for each other in a way that ensures all are fed because one is successful. This book was beautifully meditative and has given me a lot to consider in my daily life going forward. Very good for readers who loved Braiding Sweetgrass or Elizabeth Gilbert.

The Serviceberry is a very short book, but it manages to capture maybe the essential conflict underlying most of our problems (is that hyperbole? Maybe! But I don't think so!). Namely, the discord between gift economies and market capitalism. One encourages reciprocity and care for collective wellbeing and one....does not. Capitalism, being profit-driven, encourages privatization of resources, hoarding, artificial scarcity, and competition between individuals. It financially incentivizes pollution of communal property, like air and water, and necessitates growth for growth's sake, not to sustaining ecosystems (both social and environmental). Rather than collapse into futility, however, Kimmerer highlights some strategies for integrating gift economies into capitalism; I particularly appreciated her ode to public libraries as a model for this.
Ultimately, this is an encouraging and convincing call for individual action to move the needle towards reciprocity and care for the collective. A pessimist might say it's not enough, given the political hopelessness of abandoning capitalism, but Kimmerer intentionally avoids doing so. To motivate change, there has to be some hope for meaningful results. She shows us it's possible, if we can value and accept the scale at which like minded individuals can make an impact.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

This book is a balm, so much food for thought in this exploration of a gift economy. We can be better and this essay shows us the path. The gift of gifts.... and the gift of giving, so much to ponder here, especially as I read this in the midst of a contentious election year. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a treasure. This book is a gift to the reader and all that surrounds us. Thanks to NetGalley for the gift of this reading experience.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I got the book but was positively delighted in the short length and the topic: reciprocity. It's been one on my mind a lot lately as we continue to battle the deluge in development and pollution and climate change. Kimmerer offers a no holds barred approach and cuts to the chase in this short book. Part of me wishes for her to write a bit more about it but this is the perfect length to allow someone to dip their toes and explore further in other works.

-Thank you to Simon & Schuster for providing a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. -

Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer does it again! In a way that I have come to find only she can, Dr. Kimmerer teaches us about the lessons we can glean from the natural world in an approachable, digestible, and poetic manner. Dr. Kimmerer invites readers to reflect on the meaning of abundance and reciprocity by highlighting the natural gift economy created by Serviceberries. In doing so, she calls us on to challenge the construct of scarcity and explains the implications our consumptive economy has on Earth's natural resources.

As an Odawa reader, I appreciated Dr. Kimmerer's inclusion of Potawatomi language and Anishinaabe perspectives throughout the book; reading this book felt healing in a way I cannot yet describe. The illustrations throughout this book were beautiful and concise and a nice complement to Dr. Kimmerer's words. This book left me in a state of reflection and gratitude, questioning the ways in which I can engage in a reciprocal gift economy.

I highly recommend everyone read this important, concise work that Dr. Kimmerer has gifted us!

I've previously read and enjoyed Gathering Moss, but never got around to Braiding Sweetgrass. I saw this one was short and available on Netgalley, so I thought I'd give it a shot. It's an expanded essay on the gift economy and fostering a spirit of abundance, rather than scarcity, centered around the abundant gifts from the serviceberry (which I'd never heard of before). Western economics is generally built on an assumption of scarcity, which leads to hoarding and other self-serving behaviors that become destructive, especially as they scale up. Kimmerer explores what might happen if we flipped that assumption, focusing on sharing and giving, taking only what we need, while making sure others have what they need. I love this in theory, but it's such a shift from how my world is structured, I have a difficult time envisioning how it would work in practice if I try to see it beyond close family, friends and neighbors.

I suspect I would have been as pleased with this in essay form, but I like might never have run across it, so I'm ultimately glad it was made into a book. Also, I read a digital copy and apparently I missed some good illustrations. I'll have to check to them out in a bookstore after the book comes out.

Thank you to Scribner and Simon and Schuster for providing this ARC.

I'm a fan of Braiding Sweetgrass and this book is a great addition to Kimmerer's other books. I know fans of Kimmerer are going to come away from reading this ready to put these ideas into action in their life and in their communities. I enjoyed reading Kimmerer's thoughts on these topics and hope to see other books from her in the future focused on ideas like this we can put into action. The art is also lovely.
I posted a blog review of the book as well
https://paperbackpagan.wordpress.com/2024/09/11/the-serviceberry-by-robin-wall-kimmerer/

My word, can Robin Wall Kimmerer write a stunning sentence. This short book is a love letter to nature. Braiding Sweetgrass was one of my favorite reads of 2022 because Kimmerer writes so beautifully about nature. In this one, she explores the connected relationship between nature and humanity, specifically within indigenous communities (of which she is a member) and how their nations treat the natural world, with a mutual respect and admiration. Put that against our own communities who often use nature in an exploitative, harmful way, which bleeds the environment and nature itself, dry. She focuses specifically on the serviceberry of the title to carry her point that our relationship to nature should be one focused on giving and caring. Kimmerer’s writing is like poetry, flowing with gorgeous imagery and a kind voice. I loved this.

The Serviceberry
Robin Wall Kimmerer

We are currently in the season when we forage for huckleberries which grow wild in the mountains of Northwest Montana. Over the last couple of years, there has been a disturbing trend of these bushes being overpicked, frequently by commercial pickers, sometimes to the point of causing damage to the bushes. Aside from us, bears love these berries, and more recently, there have been more bear activity into populated areas, searching for food. One grizzly was just euthanized by Fish and Wildlife officials today for repeated “encounters.”

Robin Wall Kimmerer’s “The Serviceberry” hits home. We are reminded that we are part of a biological and economic ecosystem, dependent on cooperation and reciprocity. More often than not, we forget this and treat nature as if it is ours to exploit, not realizing that our actions lead to consequences for other plant and animal members of that ecosystem, and eventually come back to haunt us.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing the ARC for my honest, but as you can see from my first paragraph, heavily biased review.

I really enjoyed reading The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer. In this book, Kimmerer discusses the gift economy of the Earth versus the scarcity economy of capitalism. She educates about Indigenous gift economies and encourages the reader to invest in small scale gift economies that center gratitude for the gifts of Earth.

I love how Kimmerer questions the assumptions made by colonialism and capitalism. I felt like this book gave me hope for new ways to interact with the community. Even if we can’t change our capitalist economy overnight, it is still worthwhile to invest in a local gift economy.

I’d recommend this book for anyone who is hoping for a more sustainable way to interact with our communities and with the Earth.

I received an advance copy of this book for free, and I’m leaving this review voluntarily.

A short and sweet essay introducing the need to pursue gift economies that focus more on relationship and reciprocity than taking until there's nothing left to take.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for an eARC in exchange for my honest review. This is a thoughtful exploration of the gift economy in the face of mass production, mass consumption, hoarding, and other capitalist systems. Kimmerer orients the reader with a simple example— the gift of the serviceberry that provides food for herself, her neighbors, and the forest ecosystem— before diving into the larger ways we rely on each other. The shift in mindset is accompanied by tangible actions, including incremental change and creative disruption. As a librarian, this was a joy to read.

I especially love the end note of the book: “The author’s advance payments for this book about the gift economy of the natural world will be donated as a reciprocal gift, back to the land, for land protection, restoration, and justice in support of healing land and people.” It reinforced my desire to not only share the book but look into local sanctuaries. Kimmerer being able to impart her generous spirit in such a short piece is the hallmark of a great writer.

I loved loved loved this book. Anything by Robin Wall Kimmerer is just so nourishing. When reading her work, I feel the same way I feel when I read Mary Oliver's poetry. It's soulful and deep. I feel more connected to stillness and observation, to nature, to where I live, to cycles of plants/animals, to the beauty of ordinary moments. I feel connected to minute details, ie. a fallen bird feather, a blade of grass, veins in a leaf, as well as the collective and systems, ie. economics, ecology, human psychology. Highly recommend this book.

Thank you Scribner and NetGalley for this ARC! What a gift. Very much appreciated!

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 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.

Weighing in at just under 128 pages, this very slender book by the talented essayist and botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer, invites readers to sample an idea she brought up in her bestselling <I> Braiding Sweetgrass</I>.

The idea of "gift economy" explores the concepts of abundance and gratitude as the basis of economic progress—but before any hard-nosed modern Western thinkers dismiss it is a hippy-dippy pie-in-the-sky dreaming, Kimmerer provides convincing and commonplace examples of how the gift economy, which was the basis for many Indigenous cultures, is still alive and well, even in the middle of capitalism's ecological nightmare.

So a gift economy, Kimmerer explains, happens all over North America when zucchini squash ripen. People bring bags of zucchini to work, put them at the curb, pop them into people's cars. Zucchini ripen with such abundance that growers are happy to share. Why share? Because it's inherently gratifying, and, in the idiom of Indigenous culture, it's far better and more sensible to "store" food in the bellies of your friends than to stockpile it.

In a gift economy, when someone has an abundance, it is shared. Think this won't work on a larger scale? Consider the free-cycle movement, volunteers of every stripe, the common roadway, a public library.

It's a radical idea, yes, and counter-intuitive to mainstream economics, which is based, Kimmerer posits, on scarcity. That there is never enough to go around and value is driven by scarcity. She suggests that as a driver, scarcity does not really encourage either production or distribution. We live amid abundance, but mostly view everything as a commodity to acquire. When it's just as clearly all a gift, given abundantly enough for everyone to get along.

Kimmerer is herself a gift to readers and thinkers. She shares her abundance of both ideas and hope, encouraging a move—even a tiny move—toward a different way of looking at our world.

Thank you Scribner and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my unfettered opinion.