The Serviceberry: An Economy of Gifts and Abundance

The time you’ll spend reading this book will, like the time spent picking wild berries, nourish your soul, heart, and mind. I hope to give this book to everybody -- Anthony Doerr Compelling ... A moving meditation on what a giving tree can teach us about building a fairer society * TIME * The Serviceberry is a gem of a book. It invites us to think again about economics, and imagine another way of relating to one another based on generosity, kindness, interconnectedness, and restraint. The book reminds us that how we think, and the stories we tell, shape how we live – and it’s high time we thought and lived differently, with new stories, about our place in nature. -- James Rebanks A sweet reminder of our interdependence * The New York Times Book Review * A gorgeous meditation on reciprocity and abundance in nature ... a lyrical call to action * Oprah Daily * An uplifting, open-hearted little book that asks us to reframe our relationships in the world as ones of easy generosity. To be wealthy, explains Robin Wall Kimmerer, is to have enough to share: give all that you have, and take only what you need -- Cal Flyn A masterful reflection on ecology and culture … startling in its simplicity. Kimmerer invites readers to envision a life that embraces the gift economy—one built on reciprocity, collective well-being, and care … Her beautiful and hopeful prose leaves readers feeling sated, galvanized, and keenly aware of the world around them * Kirkus * This wise little book asks us to escape our doomed extractive economy, learning from the cooperative circularity of living systems and the sustainable stewardship of indigenous cultures -- Gaia Vince Robin Wall Kimmerer's call to accommodate ecology and moneyless exchange into our economics is beautiful, radical and true. Her persuasive argument is a gift in itself -- Philip Marsden Lyrical, personable … invites readers into worlds of possibility … this sweet offering builds on Kimmerer’s ideas about the gift economy and how Indigenous wisdom might inform it -- Meera Subramanian * Scientific American * At once incredibly simple and incredibly profound - a real gift -- Caroline Lucas A meditation on communing with nature and cultivating connections with one another … Kimmerer makes a convincing argument, wrapped in beautiful language and vivid imagery * Washington Post * The Serviceberry shows us the gift economy in action in rural and in urban settings – it is a source of powerful inspiration, and an essential read. It offers each of us a way to navigate, lovingly and practically, the dark times in which we’re living and in so doing, creating a matrix of healing -- Jini Reddy Kimmerer’s warm, inviting style feels like you are having a conversation as you pick serviceberries… the book offers a good dose of optimism and encouragement, which makes it a lovely read and a potentially transformative one * New Scientist * Vivid and poetic, and also fierce … an elegant distillation of some of Kimmerer’s political ideas * Observer *