The publishing world is often dominated by big-name authors promoting their work through publishers with colossal marketing budgets behind them. But every so often, a new voice breaks through totally organically. That was the case for Robin Wall Kimmerer, whose essay collection Braiding Sweetgrass has been on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list for 46 weeks and counting. It encompasses indigenous traditions and our symbiosis with nature as human beings.
Kimmerer is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and a botanist.
The author says she wrote the collection initially on a yellow legal pad, and that she prefers to work outdoors.
Kimmerer says part of the reason her message is resonating now is that Indigenous knowledge emphasizes connection and interdependence, rather than independence.”
The other day I was raking leaves in my garden to make compost and it made me think, This is our work as humans in this time: to build good soil in our gardens, to build good soil culturally and socially, and to create potential for the future. What will endure through almost any kind of change? The regenerative capacity of the earth. We can help create conditions for renewal.”
Robin Wall Kimmerer
Indigenous traditions are what us brought us to where we are in time. We need to remember our roots and how to nurture the planet the way it cares and provides for us!
Robin Wall Kimmerer’s essay collection, “Braiding Sweetgrass,” is a perfect example of crowd-inspired traction…On Feb. 9, 2020, it first appeared at No. 14 on the paperback nonfiction list; it is now in its 30th week, at No. 9.
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Click here for the full book review on The New York Times.
