Adult book club: The Serviceberry

Join fellow community members for a discussion of The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer. 

Participants can attend at the library or via Zoom. All are welcome!

Registration is required by 12 p.m. on the day of the discussion. For those attending virtually, the Zoom link will be sent to the email address you used to register. The meeting link and reading guide will be emailed on the day of the event.

We have a limited number of copies for registrants to borrow, based on the order that they register. Registrants will be contacted if a copy is available. If all of the copies are spoken for, you can try to find one by:

• Placing a hold on a regular circulating copy in the NVCL catalogue;
• Checking at other local libraries, such as North Vancouver District Library or West Vancouver Memorial Library. 

Do you have questions or need help finding a copy? Email info@nvcl.ca or call 604-998-3450.

About the book

"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 insures 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"” [publisher].