Photo: Chris Emeott
Books that have become my favorites over the years tend to be the ones that were recommended to me by fellow readers. There’s something powerful in the enthusiasm behind a word-of-mouth recommendation.
That is true of my most recent favorite: Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer. A botanist, poet and member of the Potawatomi Nation, Kimmerer weaves together a beautifully lyrical book that is part memoir, part science and part love letter to the natural world.
Kimmerer shares Indigenous knowledge about the reciprocal relationship between humans and plants, animals, rocks and rivers, etc. and how the reciprocity of giving and taking with gratitude can help us ensure that this Earth will be habitable for future generations.
I recommend listening to the audiobook version to hear Potawatomi words sprinkled throughout the narration in the author’s own pleasantly soothing voice.
Tracy Hvezda-Lehtola is a patron experience supervisor for the Hennepin County Library–Excelsior. Read more at hclib.org.
![Finding enough to do in her Long Lake garden isn’t difficult for Meg Cowden. She relishes the opportunity. “Gardening is a multifaceted life-giving hobby,” she says. “It provides you with the opportunity to slow down, observe [and] experience deep reverence daily, and it’s grounding.”](https://lakeminnetonkamag.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Future_LKM_GardenTour_Meg_7743.jpg)
