Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

44 reviews

dhiyanah's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

There's a profound heaviness we feel about our collective wounds and responsibilities in how the planet is changing, suffering, and asking for help during these times. I'm grateful this book doesn't shy away from that, giving language to the overwhelm we're navigating, tracing it back to our ruptured connection with land and the patterns upheld to keep us in constant states of struggle, survival, and forgetfulness.

By sharing her lived experiences in reclaiming, remembering, and honoring practices kept alive by her own and other indigenous lineages (US-based), the author invites us to reflect on our own capacities and efforts of being in right relationship with the living world. In this book, I found reflections of how my own struggles of unbelonging and loneliness are linked to a sense of feeling orphaned from land, from wider community. I found deep queries and burning desires within me - not having much framework for being local to anywhere - to embody a more reciprocal and grounded approach to the natural world, to this planet who still feeds and tends to us through all this chaos. 

For this and so much more, I feel this is a crucial read to help situate and cultivate hope, courage, and determination within as we journey through these giant waves of grief and renewal with our Mother Earth.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Forced institutionalization, and Colonisation

Moderate: Racism and Grief

Minor: Animal death, Suicide, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

waybeyondblue's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Colonisation

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and Cultural appropriation

kaimetcalfe's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Genocide, Grief, and Colonisation

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Death, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Colonisation

val_so_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism and Grief

art_books_chemistry's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.5

Braiding Sweetgrass is a combination memoir and reflective essay, mashed together with a history and science lesson. As a botanist, Kimmerer is able to use scientific logic to explain some of the cultural teachings of her and other indigenous peoples. She also uses these teachings to evaluate morality and the relationship humans have with the earth. A lot of her stories focus on the process of living off the land whether because you have to or simply because by being here we are doing so. 

Listening to Kimmerer narrating was very relaxing and nearly meditative. I listened to a lot of this while walking back and forth through Cleveland from my hotel to the convention center while attending a conference. That being said, I could not listen to this while multitasking before bed, as for the same reason it would cause me to drift off to sleep. I also found some of her stories to be a bit repetitive in their lessons. I suppose it could have been to drive home her points but it also caused me to drift out occasionally since I knew where she was going with a story. 

I really enjoyed hearing her talk about Indigenous teachings and how she tries to implement them in her academic classrooms as well as her life. Some of the points definitely made me think about some things I could maybe try or do myself. There were also several sad parts relating to her learning her own language as an adult and the attitudes of some of the people in academia. 

If you're looking to understand some Indigenous peoples better or just to understand a different view regarding caring for the Earth this is definitely a good book. If you aren't interested in the subject matter it may feel a bit dry and repetitive at points. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Colonisation

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Animal death and Genocide

maregred's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation

Minor: Genocide, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Cultural appropriation

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Colonisation

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Classism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Child death, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Climate change, habitat destruction, pollution.

susannaobrien's review against another edition

challenging hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

A beautiful meditation on the philosophy of reciprocity and power of gratitude. I enjoyed the interwoven details from the perspective of indigenous culture, academic science and personal history, and the way each has enhanced her commitment to protection and respect for the earth.

She writes poetically, which was often a joy, but sometimes felt like a slog. I really did find it too long, and sadly caught myself rushing through to finish the audiobook before my loan expire (Perhaps one to have a copy of and dip into). It definitely could have been edited as some chapters felt repetitive or dull. Or split into two, as I did appreciate the richness of the topics covered.

Overall, it exposed my to new ways of thinking and I know I'll be trying to take these ideas forward with me. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide, Forced institutionalization, and Colonisation

Minor: Addiction, Grief, and Cultural appropriation

nodogsonthemoon's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Genocide, Racism, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

Minor: Child death, Hate crime, Suicide, Cannibalism, Car accident, and War

melancholymegs's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective relaxing slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Racism, Forced institutionalization, and Colonisation

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Excrement and Suicide attempt