Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

I give this book 10 acorns out of 10 acorns.


I just loved this book. My partner also loved it. We bought 3 copies and shared some of them with friends. I have yet to hear someone who didn't adore the book.

I found the book was like reading poetry. I would get excited to read a chapter and than read through the chapter and than just stew in its scrumptious juices afterwards. I only tried to read one chapter a night and would just relish it.  The book makes me want to make the sound Ahhhh .... (while breathing out  sounds better in real life) like a sigh of contentment.

Feelings of being brought home.

I give this book 10 out of 10 acorns.

I think this book gave words to many ideas I've had for some time. I cannot consider myself an environmentalist until I truly believe Nature is my leader, my educator and my partner and this book, with words like (related to wild strawberries) "Gifts from the earth or from each other establish a particular relationship, an obligation of sorts to give, to receive, and to reciprocate. The field gave to us, we gave to my dad, and we tried to give back to the strawberries." Am I giving back to the apple tree that I harvested fruit from, when I park my ducks under it for 3 days to hunt for bugs and give the gift of poop?

Dr Kimmerer asks important questions like, "How, in our modern world, can we find our way to understand the earth as a gift again, to make our relations with the world sacred again?" She discusses how important the "gift relationship" is rather than treating everything as a commodity with a price attached which has resulted in the devastation of the natural world.

She moves on to discuss how the English language and her indigenous language are different at a structural level. I have noticed in the last 5 years how certain words in English do not support ideas I feel are true - I'm not alone! She quotes one of her students, "Doesn't this mean that speaking English, thinking in English, somehow gives us permission to disrespect nature? By denying everyone else the right to be persons? Wouldn't things be different if nothing was an it?" I agree with Dr kimmerer - I think to truly change the future of humans on Earth, we need to change our language. We need words for things that we dump into pronouns like "it" not just because we're taught that a "rock is just an it", but because our language doesn't let us consider it's anything else. Can we truly start believing that the dirt under our feet is a living creature - bigger than the sum of its parts - rather than just "it"?

She describes a tradition among the Onandaga of "Words that come before all else" and those words are thanking our Mother the Earth, then thanking water, and fish, and "the vast fields of plant life" and after several examples, moving on to animals, before even thanking the wind, the sun and the moon. When you think about it, if we had no moon, we would have no tides and all the benefits an intertidal zone brings us. Without wind, what would bring us cool breezes?

She includes a chapter about the 3 Sisters (corn, beans and squash), one about baskets, and about maple sugar. So many things which we are taught are "just commodities" are described as respected members of her family and an important part of the web of life.

I truly think this is a wonderful book and that everyone would find things in the pages that will stretch how they look at the world around them and the land they live on and in.

I give this book 10 out of 10 acorns. Really, my heart gives it 12 out of 10 acorns.

This book is one of the foundational inspirations for how my partner and I steward our land.
The title is poetically appropriate, as she beautifully braids together things that are too often disconnected: Science and Spirituality. Philosophy and practical action. Intellectual concepts and feelings. Heart, mind, soul.

It's very difficult to describe this book.... a beautiful, expansive exploration of how we can live in integrity with our true nature as part of Nature; grounded in direct experience, action, knowledge, and wisdom.
From picking wild strawberries for a father's birthday treat, to preserving a language that reframes the world as a living and changing lifeform... Robin Wall Kimmerer shares her inspiring journey of falling in love with Nature, and living a life in integrity with Nature as teacher and lover in a modern world. Deep lessons and wisdom applicable to all, and much needed in this age.

I recommend the audiobook. Hearing her voice convey her messages is beautiful.

I've recently read Braiding Sweetgrass. LOVE it. I wanted to share it as a great permaculture book and learned that has been done already. Thank you Leigh. As for Jay she so totally speaks to where my heart has been (aching) for a long time. Thank you also, Leigh, for the the video links. I just watched the first and am typing now through tear stained glasses. I am grateful for learning of the abreviated word "Ki": how to refer to our plant and animal neighbors without the diminishing "it" pronoun (among many of the nourishing things Dr. Kimmerer shared).

I will see if I can figure out how to give this book 10 acorns on our book review list.

Barbara Kochan wrote:I've recently read Braiding Sweetgrass. LOVE it. . . . I will see if I can figure out how to give this book 10 acorns on our book review list.

Barbara, we love reviews and would love to have you write some too! Here's a link to a tutorial that will tell you everything you need to know to get started. :)
How to Make a Review for a Review Grid

I give this book 10 out of 10 acorns

I signed up for audible and discovered this book. Yeah, I’m a bit late in discovering it, I know. Better late than never, they say.

This book has been very thought provoking for me. For the past 20 years I have been living a lifestyle that has been dancing around permaculture, sustainability, self-reliancy,  and indigenous lifestyles (both North American and Hawaiian). This book helped me organize my feelings and beliefs better, putting them into stronger words.

I have added this book to my "to re-read over again, and again" reference books. I just ordered a paper copy to add to my library, that’s how much I liked it.  

I teach gardening and food self-reliance in my little community. There are a few books that I want my students to read so that we are all on the same footing. I am adding this one to my list.

So if you ever visit Naalehu, Hawaii and want to drop by for a chat about permaculture and tour the gardens, it would be wise to read this book first so you will understand where I am coming from. It’s a good book.

I give this book 10 out of 10 acorns.

This was thoroughly entertaining as well as informative. I appreciated that it shared a cultural perspectives while being grounded in science. It was very well blended and written in such a way that even someone who does not consider themselves an environmentalist could find enjoyable- not at all preachy or pushy. The approach to botany it presents helped me gain a more thorough understanding of systems theory. I was able to glean both philosophical and practical/skills based knowledge from the pages, such as tips for processing maple syrup. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading books at an adult reading level.

I give this book 10 out of 10 acorns.

This book brought me so much joy and a sense of belonging into the world, that I sometimes miss.
It's absolutely beautiful and we have given it away as presents at least 5 times in 3 languages.