About the Book:
As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on “a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise” (Elizabeth Gilbert).
Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, a mother, and a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings—asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass—offer us gifts and lessons, even if we’ve forgotten how to hear their voices. In a rich braid of reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.
About Jason Layh:
Jason is the current book buyer at Alpenglow Sports. He divides his time between his family, the shop and his love of the outdoors. An avid reader from a young age he has collected writen works from 5 of the 7 continents during his travels around the world. Born in Australia, Jason has called Tahoe home since 2006.
Why Jason Chose This Book:
This is simply one of the most beautiful reads of the last decade. Combining indigenous wisdom, scientifc knowledge and the teachings of plants Ms. Kimmer weaves the three together seamlessly creating a narrative that is at once a lesson in how to be human and how to be a part of nature as much as it is a love letter to the world around us.
