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Solidarity Stories: Community Led Book Discussion "The Serviceberry"

Join the Mount Rainier Branch Library and Prince George’s County Office of Human Rights for our monthly book club! This month we hope you can join us as we discuss "The Serviceberry: 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 ensures 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.”

—From the catalog

Borrow the book from PGCMLS: Print | Eaudiobook | Ebook | 

The Solidarity Stories: Community - Led Book Discussion takes place the 3rd Tuesday of each month in the upstairs lounge area of Mixt Food Hall in Brentwood, MD. Limited parking is available via the garage on 39th Street and Rhode Island Ave. Parking is free for program participants and no purchase is required, but participants are welcome to order snacks, drinks, or dinner from Mixt’s vendors. For more information, visit their website: https://mixtfoodhall.com