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Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World
by 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."
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (4/23/2026)
I re-read Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer for my discussion group (perfect for Earth Day) & I'm almost finished with Won't Be Long Now by Elizabeth Hardinger for the BookBrowse discussion, which is somewhat of a depressing read.
-Carol_Ann_Robb
What’s the best nonfiction book you read in 2025?
It's a toss-up between "How We Learn to Be Brave" by Bishop Mariann Budde and "The Serviceberry" by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
-Carol_Ann_Robb
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (12/04/2025)
I've checked off three of my four reading group picks. Spent by Alison Bechdel, The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer and The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett. Let's just say I will look forward to January picks and hope they are more to my liking. I did like The Serv...
-Barbara_B1
What book or books are you reading this week? (01/23/2025)
After finishing "Frozen River", I picked up "Serviceberry" by Robin Wall Kimmerer and just started "Mask of the Deer Woman" by Laurie L. Dove.
-Carol_Ann_Robb
What book or books are you reading this week? (01/09/2025)
...wnloaded. I very much enjoyed reading My Life and look forward to listening to this follow-up political/personal memoir. I just finished listening to The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer and will definitely pick up the book to read more slowly and intentionally. The twin concepts of abundance and reciprocity in the natural world spill...
-Sunny
What are you reading this week? (12-26-2024)
I just finished The Serviceberry by Robin Wall-Kimmerer. It was short but so profound, thought-provoking and a call to action.
-Gabi_J
What are your reading this week? (12-12-2024)
I just finished 'The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World' by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Perfect short read for this season of giving. Now reading The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan (I seem to have a thing for Irish authors this year)
-Evonne_Benedict
"Kimmerer's deeply rooted, wise, and inspiring reflections coalesce into a fresh approach to connecting ecology, economics, and ethics… [Readers] will learn a lot about ecological ways of living from Kimmerer's nature-rooted wisdom and beautifully clear writing." —Booklist (starred review)
"An eloquent call to action." —Publishers Weekly
"Kimmerer, drawing from her Potawatomi heritage, uses the abundant serviceberry to demonstrate the gifts that the natural world provides. This portrait is startling in its simplicity, resulting in a masterful reflection on ecology and culture. The book seamlessly blends science, inherited wisdom, and philosophy ... [Kimmerer's] beautiful and hopeful prose leaves readers feeling sated, galvanized, and keenly aware of the world around them. A welcome meditation on living in harmony with the earth and fostering deeper connections with one another." —Kirkus Reviews
"Robin Wall Kimmerer, celebrated author of Braiding Sweetgrass, gifts her readers once again with this gorgeous meditation on reciprocity and abundance in nature... Beautifully illustrated, brimming and buzzing with plant and animal life, The Serviceberry is a lyrical call to action." —Oprah Daily
"A delightful new book that reflects on the natural world and how we can derive lessons on gratitude, reciprocity and community to flourish mutually." —Seattle Times
"The Serviceberry is a profoundly important book about how we might remodel consumer economies around mutuality, generosity, and bountifulness. 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, author of All the Light We Cannot See and Cloud Cuckoo Land
This information about The Serviceberry was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants as well as Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses. Kimmerer is a 2022 MacArthur Fellow. She lives in Syracuse, New York, where she is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology, and the founder of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment.
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