Will I love Gathering Moss?

Who would have thought that one of the best books of the year would be about moss. Yes, moss, the spongy stuff on the ground. Robin Wall Kimmerer is the best kind of nature writer, making her subject come alive and using it as a springboard to talk about other things. Part science, part history, part natural history, part memoir, this book defies categorization. Immerse yourself in the fascinating world of moss with this surprising page-turner.

Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer is a treasure trove of wisdom and wonder, merging science with indigenous knowledge in a way that feels like a yummy, sweet homecoming. Kimmerer’s writing is quiet yet profound, guiding readers through the intricate world of mosses with the reverence and patience they deserve. She has this unique gift of making the seemingly small and often overlooked come alive with breathtaking beauty and significance, reminding us that the simplest forms of life hold the deepest lessons.

What I love most about this book is how it transforms our way of seeing, inviting us to… show more.

I love swamps and streams and rivers (and I’m learning to love the ocean), and I especially love the miniature ecosystems that Kimmerer studies and describes with such gentle care in this book. Sure, everyone’s read Braiding Sweetgrass. (Wait, you haven’t? What are you doing here?! Go! Read!) But have you read the one about moss?

Both books reminded me of why I am drawn to science, of how structured observation and research can illuminate complex and dynamic processes. But I found the science in this one more compelling. It’s a collection of graceful retellings focused on the intricacies… show more.

While many folks turn to Braiding Sweetgrass first, I read Gathering Moss first and was completely enthralled: this is a book that makes the work of science personal.

I love how Kimmerer brings the tiny worlds of moss to life – it’s completely enchanting! It changed my understanding of these tiny plants.

I always believed that all beings have a spirit and personality, but while reading Gathering Moss, I felt I had actually been invited to meet moss communities! In this book and its sequel, Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer shows us how to restore our relationships to land and all that dwells in our ecosystem. A scientist and writer, Dr. Kimmerer shares her personal encounters with "plant people" and their associations with birds, people, insects, and what we can learn from our plant relations. This is not a "field guide" to identifying plants, but a "feel good guide" of gentle essays… show more.

Robin, a co-editor of the Kinship series with me, has become well-known for her book Braiding Sweetgrass, which was a New York Times bestseller. Robin’s popularity is based in part on her unique ability to bridge the worlds of Western science (she has a PhD in botany) and indigenous wisdom (she’s a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation). For those looking to dive deeper into her work, Robin’s first book Gathering Moss is a gleaming green gem of a book, full of stories that will pull you into wondrous microcosms of relation. This is a book about the… show more.

In this book, Robin Wall Kimmerer builds on her scientific training and Indigenous heritage to discuss the enchanting world of moss. In particular, she shows that moss can provide us with a model of how we might live and how it is possible to survive the climate crisis. The horizontality and superficiality of moss, combined with a medley of different varieties sharing symbiotically the same space, becomes both a literal and a figurative reference for human communities that are not stratified and where sharing is key to living together. 

Robin Wall Kimmerer published Gathering Moss before her now-gone-viral Braiding Sweetgrass. This book is slightly more technical than Braiding Sweetgrass. I told my daughter, who had to take Biology this summer so she could take Engineering III in the fall that she could probably just read Gathering Moss and get an A in the class. 

But the book is no textbook. Kimmerer guides us through the world of how moss interacts with other plants, evolves, and reproduces with such careful attention, lucidity, and detail that the connections she makes to how humans interact and evolve and reproduce are… show more.