LoveReading Says
“My commitment to rest as a form of resistance came from my everyday experiences of being a part of the machine-level pace of our culture and surviving the terror of poverty, exhaustion, white supremacy, and capitalism”. So shares author Tricia Hersey, founder of The Nap Ministry, in her introduction to Rest is Resistance, a powerfully personal manifesto for how — and why — we should resist the destructive grind culture that pervades modern life.
The book is brilliantly framed by the author’s family experiences, especially those of her grandmother: “I come from a long line of exhaustion. My maternal grandmother, Ora, the muse of this work, a refugee of Jim Crow terrorism, rested her eyes every day for thirty minutes to an hour in an attempt to find peace… She magically raised eight children, while dodging poverty, racism, and the invisibility of being a Black woman in America. Her commitment to ‘resting her eyes’ every day for thirty minutes was radical.”
Divided into four parts (Rest! Dream! Resist! and Imagine!), Rest is Resistance reveals exactly how the act of rest — the act of slowing down and refusing to be overworked — kicks back against capitalism and white supremacy. Underpinned by personal experience and insights, and written in rousing style, it’s a stirring, must-read call-to-action with radically transformative potential.
Joanne Owen
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Rest Is Resistance Synopsis
'Extremely important and brilliant work... [Hersey] is a revolution.' - Glennon Doyle, activist and bestselling author of Untamed, Love Warrior and Carry On, Warrior
'Essential...Rest is a necessary step in reclaiming our power to resist systemic oppression.' - Ibram X. Kendi, activist, professor and bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist
'This book will save lives and transform the world. - Emily Nagoski Ph.D., bestselling author of Come As You Are and Burnout
'This book has honestly left me changed and rearranged.' - Afua Hirsch, bestselling author of Brit(ish)
RECLAIM POWER, REST AND HEAL FROM GRIND CULTURE
'May we have space to navigate our lives from a liberated rest state. May all of culture slow down. The time to rest is now.' - The Nap Ministry
By founder and creator of The Nap Ministry, Rest is Resistance is a call-to-action for anyone suffering from the toxic urgency of modern-day life. It centres around the systemic issues that cause us to overwork, and ultimately burn out, and offers us liberation through rest. In its simplest form, rest becomes an act of resistance and a reclaiming of power because it disrupts and pushes back against capitalism and white supremacy. Slowing down moves us away from trying to operate at machine levels of productivity, to make us all more human.
In this fierce and tender manifesto, Tricia Hersey elevates rest as a divine right, and paves the way towards a more well-rested life that empowers imagination, invention and healing. Divided into four sections, Rest is Resistance explains Tricia's philosophy and methods, and includes both storytelling and practical advice. It will offer you the guidance and context to craft a rest practice for long-term health, both within yourself and society as a whole.
Rest is Resistance is not self-care: it is the urgent wake-up call you need to nap, rest and, most importantly, dream once more.
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