May Book Club: Rest is Resistance

NOTE: We are at a beautiful new, private location, in the community space The Root! We will have the room all to ourselves, and we will have a potluck of snacks and beverages for enjoying during and after book club. We'll have the room until 8:30 for socializing post-discussion.

We will gather and introduce ourselves and then spend about 70 minutes talking about the book. We try to bring a feminist perspective to every book discussion. And yes, it's OK if you didn't finish the book.

At the end of our time, we'll hold a vote for the book we'll be reading two months from now. Please bring books that you think might be interesting for the group or that you've been hoping to read!

Folks that have the time are welcome to hang out afterwards for potluck style beverages and snacks; we have the space till 8:30.

We are an inclusive group that welcomes everyone who identifies as feminist or is curious about feminism or at least wants to read feminist books.

Cost: this space does cost money, so we ask for $0-$20 sliding scale ($10 suggested) based on what is comfortable for you. We want everyone the regardless of their financial situation.

For this month, we will be reading Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey. Link.

Book description: Disrupt and push back against capitalism and white supremacy. In this book, Tricia Hersey, aka The Nap Bishop, encourages us to connect to the liberating power of rest, daydreaming, and naps as a foundation for healing and justice.

What would it be like to live in a well-rested world? Far too many of us have claimed productivity as the cornerstone of success. Brainwashed by capitalism, we subject our bodies and minds to work at an unrealistic, damaging, and machine‑level pace –– feeding into the same engine that enslaved millions into brutal labor for its own relentless benefit.

In Rest Is Resistance, Tricia Hersey, aka the Nap Bishop, casts an illuminating light on our troubled relationship with rest and how to imagine and dream our way to a future where rest is exalted. Our worth does not reside in how much we produce, especially not for a system that exploits and dehumanizes us. Rest, in its simplest form, becomes an act of resistance and a reclaiming of power because it asserts our most basic humanity. We are enough. The systems cannot have us.

Rest Is Resistance is rooted in spiritual energy and centered in Black liberation, womanism, somatics, and Afrofuturism. With captivating storytelling and practical advice, all delivered in Hersey’s lyrical voice and informed by her deep experience in theology, activism, and performance art, Rest Is Resistance is a call to action, a battle cry, a field guide, and a manifesto for all of us who are sleep deprived, searching for justice, and longing to be liberated from the oppressive grip of Grind Culture.