The Seed Keeper

A Novel

By: Diane Wilson

Narrated by: Kyla García

Rosalie Iron Wing has grown up in the woods with her father, Ray, a former science teacher who tells her stories of plants, of the stars, of the origins of the Dakhota people. Until, one morning, Ray doesn't return from checking his traps. Told she has no family, Rosalie is sent to live with a foster family in nearby Mankato - where the reserved, bookish teenager meets rebellious Gaby Makespeace, in a friendship that transcends the damaged legacies they've inherited.

On a winter's day many years later, Rosalie returns to her childhood home. A widow and mother, she has spent the previous two decades on her White husband's farm, finding solace in her garden even as the farm is threatened first by drought and then by a predatory chemical company. Now, grieving, Rosalie begins to confront the past, on a search for family, identity, and a community where she can finally belong. In the process, she learns what it means to be descended from women with souls of iron-women who have protected their families, their traditions, and a precious cache of seeds through generations of hardship and loss, through war and the insidious trauma of boarding schools.

Weaving together the voices of four women, The Seed Keeper is a beautifully told story of reawakening, of remembering our original relationship to the seeds and, through them, to our ancestors.

©2021 Diane Wilson (P)2021 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Wonderful Timely Story

Diane Wilson has written a wonderful and timely story of the people who lived and honored the land that we now live on. It is a family story of how important it is to pass on knowledge of who we are and where we came from, to hold onto who we are, like the passing on of the seeds and protecting them. The trauma of ancestors carries into the next generation. Learning, talking, and connecting help bring healing to a nation unjustly brutalized. I’m so glad that my friend chose this book for our Book Club. It will create important discussions and understanding. The seeds and the stories survive through the thoughtful action of the people. Kyla Garcia is an excellent narrator for this book.

Superb novel

A gripping story of the role of seeds in the lives of four generations of native and non-native growers in Minnesota.

Sad history, but full of hope

A novel with so much understanding of a very tragic part of American history. Beautifully crafted story of courageous human hearts.

Wopida for this beautiful storytelling

I love this story and the chilling description of a deep connection to place, and those who understood plants and any other living thing as a relative. It awakens my senses and reminds me that as Dakota, we do not limit ourselves to 5 senses, but to communication of energies that are enlightening if we listen.

Wavering voice got nervy…

I tried to get used to it, but the main characters voice was emotionally wavering. Way too much. Otherwise, the story was remarkable.