Braiding Sweetgrass

Book by Robin Wall Kimmerer (2013)

A Potawatomi botanist and professor shares essays that weave together indigenous teachings and science, revealing how nurturing a reciprocal relationship with the natural world gives profound meaning to our lives. Through stories like the “Three Sisters” (corn, beans, squash growing together) and the ceremonial harvest of wild sweetgrass, Kimmerer illustrates concepts of gratitude, gift-giving, and living in balance with Earth. She also recounts personal experiences (raising her daughters, restoring a pond), showing that aligning with nature’s rhythms (seasons of growth, fallow, harvest) can be healing and guiding. This book is often described as “medicine for the soul.” Its tone is poetic, reverent, and kind. For someone burned out by modern hustle, Braiding Sweetgrass offers a spacious perspective: that purpose can be as simple as honouring the earth around us, and that slowing down to observe and appreciate nature can restore our spirit. It’s rooted in ancestral (Native American) wisdom and emphasizes embodiment and connection to natural cycles. Significantly, it bridges evidence and soul by using Kimmerer’s scientific expertise to validate traditional practices (for example, she explains the ecological science behind indigenous harvesting methods). Reading it often sparks readers to create new rituals, like morning gratitude for the earth or gardening, which imbue daily life with meaning and rhythm. You can check her work here.