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Aug 03, 2020
A book that combines ecology, mythology, and observation to show how we can nurture the planet. Beginning with a challenge to rethink our potential for positive interaction & reciprocity with the Earth, Robin Wall Kimmerer brings in examples from her family, community, and Potawatomi tradition to consider ways in which we might begin to evolve our relationship into something mutual & beautiful. I would describe this book as "radically corny," that is, earnest & Utopic in a way that most of us raised in capitalist consumer societies might find frankly embarrassing (e.g. "A garden is the land's way of saying 'I love you"). However it's also very inspiring: one cannot help but be moved by Kimmerer's vision of a Congress that begins its sessions with a prayer of gratitude to Mother Earth. This is one of the few "feel-good" environmentalist texts that encourages meaningful rituals & relationships with the planet.