The Serviceberry

By Robin Wall Kimmerer, John Burgoyne (Illustrator)

Discover a world where reciprocity and gratitude redefine wealth and community.

4.3/5 Goodreads · 72,493 ratings

128 pages

$20.00Save 5%

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Bookroo's summary

Indigenous scientist Robin Wall Kimmerer explores the transformative power of reciprocity through the lens of the serviceberry. As she harvests alongside birds, she questions how Indigenous wisdom can reshape our values. In a world driven by scarcity and competition, can we learn from nature's gift economy? The serviceberry thrives by sharing its bounty, embodying interconnectedness and gratitude. Kimmerer invites us to envision a future where relationships, not resources, define wealth. This book challenges us to rethink our goals and embrace a model where mutual flourishing is the key to survival.

From the publisher

An Instant New York Times Bestseller 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.” Robin Wall Kimmerer is donating her advance payments from this book as a reciprocal gift, back to the land, for land protection, restoration, and justice.

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