Episode description

Robin Wall Kimmerer embodies an abundance mindset.

The naturalist and author sees the world through the lens of her Anishinaabe ancestors, where interdependence is reality, and humans are neither above nor below the natural world. We are just one part, kin to every animal and plant and stream.

Her beloved book, “Braiding Sweetgrass,” laid out this philosophy. Published in 2013, it enjoyed a gentle rise to public consciousness, not jumping onto the bestseller list until six years after publication. But it remains there to this day, a beloved devotional to millions.

Now Kimmerer is back “The Serviceberry” — with a slim book that expounds on one of her core tenants: that nature’s generosity is an invitation to explore our own.

Kimmerer joined Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas to take us all on a virtual field trip to behold the humble serviceberry, where we get a lesson on generosity, gratitude and relationship.

Guest:

• Robin Wall Kimmerer is an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, a plant ecologist, a professor and an author. Her newest book is “The Serviceberry: Abudnance and Reciprocity in the Natural World.”

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