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Reviews tagging 'Death'
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
31 reviews
elisanisly's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Colonisation, and Death
Moderate: Racism and War
Minor: Abandonment
jayisreading's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.75
It took a while to get through Braiding Sweetgrass. I just had too many thoughts running through my head while reading. Kimmerer draws attention to Indigenous knowledge and how it can coexist and complement science when we approach nature. Relatedly, she highlights the importance of gratitude and reciprocity in our relationship with the earth, that plants can be our teachers, as well as how intertwined everything is in nature.
I found myself thinking the most about reciprocity during the months I (very slowly) made my way through this book. I reflected a lot about how much listening and giving back I’ve been doing in particular. This also grew to a broader question of whether I understand reciprocation in the spaces I exist in. It’s tough, and I sometimes feel defeated, not knowing where to begin. And, considering this, I really appreciated how Kimmerer guides us through oral tradition and her experiences to teach us how to care for the land we call “home” and ways we can give back to the earth.
While I appreciated the book’s messages, it sometimes felt as though Kimmerer had on rose-tinted glasses. It’s possible I’m just a cynic (especially as of late), but I’m not sure if we (by which I mean us settlers) have a genuine grasp of gratitude, let alone reciprocity. It sometimes feels as though she assumes we have this starting point, when, in reality, we probably don’t. Do we actually know how to express thanks and give back to the earth in a way that’s just? Maybe in small ways (she suggests planting a garden, for example), but what about bigger matters such as land and sovereignty? What then?
It’s important that we remember to listen to the earth and have love and joy for it. Really, Kimmerer expresses this so beautifully and with such kindness. However, I feel that we also need to keep in mind there are complicated layers of settlers’ relationship with land and our positionality that won’t be as gentle in approach, and the hardest part of that is swallowing that pill. I guess it’s here that you’re sort of seeing my thoughts going in all directions, which is why this “review” is a bit jumbled, haha.
Overall, this was a wonderful book to read, and there’s a lot to reflect on. That being said, I do think it’s fair to say that it barely scratches the surface of what Indigenous people have been talking about when it comes to the relationship between humans and the land we live on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Death, Genocide, and Racism
Minor: Suicide attempt and Grief
rorikae's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
'Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants' is the perfect mix of nature writing, indigenous teachings, and thoughts on how we can live a gratitude and reciprocity based life. Robin Wall Kimmerer demonstrates her care for the natural world through her detailed and evocative explorations of nature as she ties personal stories and moments to larger understandings of the world and humanity's place with nature.
I honestly find this book a little bit hard to write about because it just needs to be read. I think everyone could benefit from reading this book and looking at the ways that they can bring these teachings into their daily lives.
I had so many takeaways and tabbed this book so that I could come back again and again to pieces that struck me. Three pieces that have stuck with me the most are one, looking to the gifts that nature has given to us and finding the ways that we can give thanks and live in reciprocity for those gifts. Second, that all flourishing is mutual. And third, that writing is one gift that humanity can give back to the world. As someone who feels a call to write, reading about how Kimmerer approaches writing was refreshing and inspiring.
This is one of my favorite books that I have read all year. It perfectly mixes heartfelt teachings with a realistic look at how we are treating the environment. I will be taking these teachings into my daily life and look forward to returning to this book again and again.
I honestly find this book a little bit hard to write about because it just needs to be read. I think everyone could benefit from reading this book and looking at the ways that they can bring these teachings into their daily lives.
I had so many takeaways and tabbed this book so that I could come back again and again to pieces that struck me. Three pieces that have stuck with me the most are one, looking to the gifts that nature has given to us and finding the ways that we can give thanks and live in reciprocity for those gifts. Second, that all flourishing is mutual. And third, that writing is one gift that humanity can give back to the world. As someone who feels a call to write, reading about how Kimmerer approaches writing was refreshing and inspiring.
This is one of my favorite books that I have read all year. It perfectly mixes heartfelt teachings with a realistic look at how we are treating the environment. I will be taking these teachings into my daily life and look forward to returning to this book again and again.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Colonisation, Death, Genocide, Grief, and Violence
daisydoolie's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Animal death, Genocide, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Death
maddox22's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Murder, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Violence, and War
Minor: Alcoholism and Animal cruelty
elyssajoh's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Colonisation, Cursing, Death, and Grief
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
There is so much encompassed in this book, history, science, plants, social commentary. Each chapter brings a new perspective that makes you think about your place in the world and the way that you interact with nature. There are so many little jewels planted throughout this book, and the writing flows so easily and naturally. It may be about plant science at its core, but it's also about so much more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Racism, and Genocide
skudiklier's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
I'm so glad I read this book. It has changed the way I see the world, and I think everyone should read it. I'm not really a science person, so I'll admit that some parts of this felt a little slow to me, but I don't at all regret reading it. And for the most part, it was more engaging than I would have thought.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Racism, and Animal death
Moderate: Grief, Violence, Xenophobia, and Death
Minor: Sexual content
herk's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Suicide, and Racism
reading_between_the_trees's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This should be required reading, specifically for settlers, but also for anyone feeling extremely rooted in science and thinking that it is the solution to everything. I read this in my Environmental Ethics class, and it presents such a beautiful outline of an ethic based on gratitude and ecological consciousness.
Kimmerer writes beautifully about plants and the natural world, and puts indigenous knowledge into conversation with western science and capitalism while seriously critiquing both of the latter. After reading this I have a much better understanding of both the knowledge that was thriving before colonization and is still persevering today, as well as the ways that settler culture has systemically suppressed it and the people that create and propagate it. This book is both a call to action and a re-grounding in the ways that people used to connect with the world and see their place within it rather than in opposition to it.
Kimmerer writes beautifully about plants and the natural world, and puts indigenous knowledge into conversation with western science and capitalism while seriously critiquing both of the latter. After reading this I have a much better understanding of both the knowledge that was thriving before colonization and is still persevering today, as well as the ways that settler culture has systemically suppressed it and the people that create and propagate it. This book is both a call to action and a re-grounding in the ways that people used to connect with the world and see their place within it rather than in opposition to it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide and Sexism
Moderate: Animal death, Genocide, Racial slurs, Death, and Racism
Minor: Grief