The Seed Keeper

“With compelling characters and images that linger long after the final page is turned, The Seed Keeper invokes the strength that women, land, and plants have shared with one another through the generations.”

“In chapters that shift among the perspectives of four Dakhóta women—including Rosalie’s great-aunt, who grew plants because the seeds in her pocket were ‘all that’s left of my family’—Wilson tracks Rosalie’s attempts to understand her family and her roots, and considers how memory cultivates a sense of connection to the land.”

“This powerful work achieves a deep resonance … and makes a powerful statement along the way.”

“A thoughtful, moving meditation on connections to the past and the land that humans abandon at their peril.”

“[Wilson’s] writing is almost like a lullaby, guiding you gently across the tale. There is poetry in the words, a love for nature you can feel seeping through each page.”

“[The Seed Keeper] is a gorgeous and moving work of fiction with memorable characters that will stay in your heart and body for a long time.”

“Wilson offers a different kind of idealism: one where community, family, and the seeds can create the future we’re seeking.”

“[Wilson] expertly weaves history and fiction to show how colonialism has long been a driver of environmental destruction. But the novel is also celebratory, a powerful and compelling ode to the resilience and wisdom of Indigenous cultures.”

“And though this book pulls no punches in its condemnation of white settlers and colonizers and their continued abuse of the land, it is also heartfelt and hopeful, carrying a steadfast belief in the strength of family, will, and growth.”

“A thought-provoking and engaging read.” 

“Like watching a garden grow from seed to harvest, this novel quietly unfolds to tell the story of several generations of Dakhóta women and the land that connects them.”

“[A] beautiful, immersive novel.”

“This beautiful generational saga challenges conventional American history, asking us to reckon with the traumas brought upon Native Americans.”

“The Seed Keeper confronts the legacy of American Indian genocide and sets Diane Wilson apart as a rising star.”

“In elegant prose, Wilson tells a story of one woman’s reflections on her life, loss, family and the seeds she knows are her ancestors and an imperative legacy she must protect at all costs.”

“Haunting and beautiful, the seeds and words of this novel will find their way into your world, however far from the Dakhóta lands that might be.”

“With a focus on women who carry the scars of the past alongside hope for the future, The Seed Keeper is a profound novel about resilience and rebirth.”

”[The Seed Keeper] is a simultaneously heartbreaking and hopeful story that weaves the voices of four women on the weft of history and storytelling.”

“[A] moving and monumental debut novel.”

“A moving, resonant song of remembrance, lineage, womanhood, kinship, loss, and land.”

“Direct and beautiful … A compelling read.”

“A powerful story recounting the attempted genocide of Indigenous people in America — and how they continue to survive.”

“The Seed Keeper is a deeply empathetic portrayal of a character grappling with a vibrant heritage complicated by pain, loss, and dysfunction.”