Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
In Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer—a botanist, member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, woman, mother—offers her stories and reflections on how she has come to know the world. Through each of these lenses, Kimmerer lyrically reimagines the nature of our connection with the places we call home.
“Knowing that you love the earth changes you, activates you to defend and protect and celebrate. But when you feel that the earth loves you in return, that feeling transforms the relationship from a one-way street into a sacred bond.”
Braiding Sweetgrass is sincere. It’s about gratitude. It’s about finding beauty in science. It’s about uncovering the complexity of the ordinary. It’s about returning. Most of all, it’s a celebration of our interdependence with the world we inhabit, know and love. In bringing together botany, indigenous wisdom and familial love, Kimmerer rouses a deep sense of responsibility to an earth that is our oldest friend and mentor.
Though subtle, Braiding Sweetgrass captivated me. When I first picked it up, it was around 11 p.m. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down. As the sun was rising, I remember texting my friend, “Who needs sleep, I’m currently photosynthesizing.” Progressing through it over the weeks that followed, I found solace that I too could be woven into this intricate web of life alongside the asters and goldenrod, the strawberries and algae.
For so long, I’ve wrestled with the paralyzing task of accepting ecological degradation as my own, but Braiding Sweetgrass offers another path. In moments of sadness, there is an opportunity to demonstrate our resilience.
— Rodrigo Bustamante