Rest as Resistance Reading and Reflections

Welcome!

We're looking forward to Rest as Resistance: A Two Day Retreat exploring and actualizing Tricia Hersey's New York Times best-selling book, Rest is Resistance, A Manifesto.

On this page you'll find the reading schedule for October and reflection questions to guide your reading and help you prepare for our Virtual Book Club on Thursday, November 2, 2023 and in-person retreat on Friday, November 3, 2023.

I look forward to seeing you for Rest as Resistance. Until then, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at [email protected]. 

Best,

Professor Renee Nicole Allen
Faculty Director, Center for Race and Law
 

Reading & Reflection Questions

Week 1 (10/02)
Preface + Introduction

• Is rest radical? Why or how?
• What is grind culture? How does it show up in your life?
• What is the relationship between academia and grind culture?

Week 2 (10/09)
Part One: Rest!

• Why is personal narrative an important aspect of this book?
• Why did the author choose a manifesto writing style?
• The author shares the legacy of her family’s exhaustion and their rest practices. What have you learned about rest from your community?

Week 3 (10/16)
Part Two: Dream!

• What have you been taught about rest? About work?
• Who taught you how to rest?
• This manifesto is filled with quotes and inquiries to ponder. What quotes or questions stand out? Why?

Week 4 (10/23)
Part Three: Resist!

• If rest is about more than naps, how is this manifesto about social justice and politics of refusal?
• What does your rest practice look like?
• What does a rested world look like?

Week 5 (10/30)
Part Four: Imagine!

• How can you make room for rest?
• Where does rest fit in law school and the legal profession?
• Before reading, did you consider sleep deprivation a racial or social justice issue? Has your perspective changed?