Robin Wall Kimmerer, an Indigenous botanist and the bestselling author of Braiding Sweetgrass, is back with a new book called The Serviceberry, published by Scribner.
According to CBS News, the book focuses on gratitude and reciprocity in the way people relate to nature, and on recognizing the many gifts the world provides.
In an excerpt from the book, Kimmerer describes berries as part of a larger system of exchanges involving soil, insects, birds, sunlight, rain and the people who help cultivate plants. She writes that many Indigenous communities organize life around gratitude and responsibility for earthly gifts.
Kimmerer also argues that practicing gratitude can help shift people away from overconsumption and toward a sense of sufficiency. She says reciprocity means keeping gifts moving through ecosystems and communities, not treating them as something to be accumulated.
CBS News says Martha Teichner will speak with Kimmerer about the book on CBS Sunday Morning on August 23.
