Braiding Sweetgrass : Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
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4.2 • 195 Ratings
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi, as well as a majority of other cultures indigenous to this land, consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowing together to reveal what it means to see humans as "the younger brothers of creation." As she explores these themes, she circles toward a central argument: The awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgement and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the world. Once we begin to listen for the languages of other beings, we can begin to understand the innumerable life-giving gifts the world provides us and learn to offer our thanks, our care, and our own gifts in return.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
If you feel a pull to connect with nature but aren’t sure how to go about it, listen to this gorgeous audiobook. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a professor of environmental biology at SUNY in Syracuse, a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, and a mother. Her stunning essays about natural history, ecological science, parenting, and Indigenous wisdom weave together ancient stories, modern environmental crises, funny tales from her fieldwork, and memories of her own childhood. Kimmerer advises we think of nature as a wise, generous elder relative, and her infectious hope and enthusiasm come through brilliantly in her warm narration. Braiding Sweetgrass offers vital lessons about the principle of reciprocity in nature. This is a wonderful audiobook to dip in and out of, but listening to the whole thing will really drive home Kimmerer’s fundamental message that everything—and everyone—is connected.
Customer Reviews
Beautifully written and narrated by the author
I’m glad that I purchased this book in audio format. I’m not sure that I would have read it in print form. The author is highly eloquent and very enlightening about botanical specimens and ecology. Although my ancestors are not indigenous to this country, I found sound advice in the advice of her elders.
I listened to the book for about an hour a day, as I watched leaves changing, horses grazing and birds migrating. It was the perfect book for these endeavors, as well as a salve in stressful times.
An anchor in manifestation
This book was just the summer read I was hoping for.
Some of the finest writing of our generation
Robin is an amazing writer. Imaginative, scientific and poetic. The words flow like the rivers. This is truly a life-changing book.