The Serviceberry

De: Robin Wall Kimmerer

Narrado por: Robin Wall Kimmerer

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 insures 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.”

©2024 Robin Wall Kimmerer (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

Engaging and optimistic

Engaging and optimistic, as the author's writing always is. I'm intrigued by the comparisons between the market economy and the gift economy and how those may even be able to coexist. Kimmerer also made one point that seems very obvious but was clarifying for me: an economic model founded on the assumption of scarcity (the market economy) is going to create scarcity artificially. It requires a mindset shift to recognize that we have enough and that excess can and should be shared.

The Serviceberry

Beautiful thought experiments and examples of how we break our addiction to scarcity and vulture capitalism.

Inspiring!

Just wait until the end of the book! It gave me goosebumps in the best possible way!

Excellent and Thought Provoking

I loved the premise, the writing and the narrator. There was nothing that I did not like.

Food for thought

Very much appreciate the message of the book. The gift economy is a very intriguing concept. I can see how it would work in small tight communities. I have a lot more trouble seeing it working in a large country like ours. I will spend a lot more time thinking about it though. I hate to say this, but I just didn’t like her narration. It was too sickly sweet for me sorry but that’s how I felt.

Lovely and Profound

Loved the reader/writer’s voice and pace. A reminder that much wisdom can be contained in a small footprint.

Beautiful story about what could be

Another wonderful book from this author. I have a somewhat different take on how we could implement these concepts, but these are beautiful words about how we could live much more happy.

Plants are earthly gifts rather than a consumer idea of resources.

Love this book! It’s how we should emulate to live, giving to each other without expecting anything in return.

Gentle, gracious book

Every book by Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a gift of information and hope. Such a delight!

Very good contrast between service economy and market economy

Absolutely essential is remembering gift economy works on a SMALL scale. But I like the ideals very much. I think some of the analogies to the natural world were a bit of a stretch, but I see the point. The only thing I disliked was the use of a given name as a put-down. I never liked calling people Brandon or Karen and find using Daryl just as childishly offensive. It also seems contrary to the generous spirit of gift economy. Like the author, I see all kinds of gift and exchange economies around these days, and they are genius ways of reusing things that would otherwise end up in landlords. It reminds me when I was a kid and neighbors would trade clothes and furniture when their own kids grew out of them. I also HATED getting hand-me-downs, but more I wear used clothing with pride.