The Seed Keeper

A Novel

By: Diane Wilson

Narrated by: Kyla García

Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's Summary

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

How in the world did this get so many five-stars?

I tried, I really really tried, the story seemed like it would be so good but the reader is pathetic. boring plodding obviously just reading it rather than really giving us a good performance. So disappointed I bought this with my credit for this month.

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.

Heartbreaking American History.

Such a sad chapter in American History, Every time I read a tale of the Indians who lived in such peace and grace, then disrupted by The Trail of Tear and the like, I am heartbroken by the English arrogance of the past.
Not a great narration....Didn't ruin the story, but certainly didn't enhance it either.

Just incredible

An incredible novel that delved into intergenerational trauma both in white families and native families, the weight of toxic masculinity and poverty, the history of atrocities committed against native Americans and the transformation of farming from a labor of love to another industrial process. Being from a Midwestern farming family, it was so relatable and so on point. I found it challenging and inspirational.

Amazing

This book has so much heart, and meaning in it. As someone who has just gotten into farming and is now working for an organic seed company, this was perfect. Absolutely perfect. It’s really heavy on the trauma, but I feel it’s necessary. It has a really uplifting ending, even though there is so much heaviness to this. There is a lot of hope, and so many stories that are finally being shared and brought to the light. Highly recommend.

What a treasure

Stick with it through the beginning, a beautiful tale that combines several cultural histories in a new way

Wonderful Story

This book was recommended by a very good friend. I don’t think this is something I would have picked up. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in our earth, our agriculture, and our history. I have a new respect for the people who inhabited our land before we did.

Amazing storytelling

Loved the history, the detail, and the realistic and empathic peek into the deep historical trauma colonization is still bringing to the amazingly resilient indigenous peoples.

A story we all should hear

This book is a most needed reminder of respect for the dignity of the history of our people in Minnesota

An Important Book

The stories of the indigenous people need to be told. We need to listen to their wisdom about living in balance with Nature and in relationship with the Land. This is a good step in that direction.