Rest Is Resistance

A Manifesto

By: Tricia Hersey

Narrated by: Tricia Hersey

Disrupt and push back against capitalism and white supremacy by connecting to the liberating power of rest, daydreaming, and naps as a foundation for healing and justice. Tricia Hersey, aka The Nap Bishop, encourages us to elevate rest as a form of resistance and a divine human right.

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.

Critic reviews

“Rest Is Resistance left me feeling elated. This book reminds us that we are in charge of our restoration. In these pages, Tricia has offered us an invitation to take our power back.” —Alexandra Elle, author of After the Rain and How We Heal

“Sometimes the window is open and a breeze comes through singing a sweet song: it is nap time. Grandmother sits on the front porch; grandpapa cuts the grass. It is a song. You nap. I nap. The angels hug us. A book settles beside us. Rest Is Resistance. It is a war we will win.”—Nikki Giovanni, Poet

“With Rest Is Resistance, Tricia Hersey helps us understand that rest is how we can sustain ourselves as we awaken to the truth of the toxic systems of our times. She is not ahead of or above us in this journey, but right here in the midst of social media addiction and overwork and systemic frustration, shouting that she can see an opening. She offers us rest not instead of the incredible work we are doing, but as a way to undergird all our efforts against capitalism and white supremacy. She shows us that our dream space is sacred, and rest is how we reclaim access to the wisdom there. Naps and all kinds of rest are portals through which we return to ourselves. Tricia, sounding like an ancestor who is DONE seeing us suffer, is inviting us to join her and step on through.”—adrienne maree brown, author of Emergent Strategy and Pleasure Activism

“If the rude stillness of rest is a sermon, Tricia Hersey is its underground prophet. Tricia's fierce insistence that rest is resistance is more than a plea for us to take occasional vacations, and nothing less than a spell masterfully crafted to evacuate us from the settlement politics of capture. Read this book. Then sleep, irreverently, knowing you shake worlds as you do.” —Báyò Akómoláfé, Ph.D., author of These Wilds Beyond our Fences: Letters to My Daughter on Humanity's Search for Home

"Vivid, deeply researched and moving… Hersey’s manifesto towards radical restoration is lifegiving"—Glory Edim, author of On Girlhood and Well-Read Black Girl

“Tricia Hersey’s Nap Ministry changed my life. Rest Is Resistance is more than a book — it is one of the most vital interventions of our time.”—Casey Gerald, author of There Will Be No Miracles Here

“Lay your ass down and read this book right now! Rest Is Resistance is an inspiring, affirming and revolutionary balm. Tricia and the Nap Ministry’s ethos have changed my life, and work, for the better and this manifesto is no different. With compassionate inquiry and actionable offerings, Tricia divinely guides us further into rest, ourselves, and our collective liberation.”—Rachel Ricketts, spiritual activist and author of Do Better

This book will rock your world

I have described myself as task oriented, productive, and aspirational my entire life. This book helped me question the messages I’ve internalized from my culture and my family - and I’m sharing the message to help my family heal from our constant need to grind/ produce. Give this wonderful book a listen - and let it plant a seed in you to value yourself just for existing. thank you Ms. Hersey, for sharing this book with the world.

Things I know but needed to hear

The message of resting and its connection to capitalism and my enslaved ancestors were dots that I needed to connect. That alone was worth it. Her references to the black church experience were also critical and an important truth that is often overlooked.

However be mindful that the author repeats themselves directly or indirectly ALOT. If you can take the reiterating of important points, you will walk away with a new perspective on resting and why it is an act of resistance.

What would a well-rested world look like?

Hersey shares personal, intellectual, and imaginative underpinnings of the her Nap Ministry work. It’s a very thoughtful exploration of rest as a need, a right, a spiritual practice, and a means of resisting the insidious culture of exploitation that is 21st century American capitalism. I’ll definitely need to get this one in physical form and spend more time with it—audio marginalia will not be enough.

I FEEL SEEN

This book felt like coming home to a warm blanket and a cup of hot cocoa. It was validating to my unique life choices to prioritize my mental, physical, and emotional health. By uplifting my personal practices of rest, mindfulness, play, stillness, bubble baths, wine, and vacations, I have felt odd until this book. Ms. Hersey’s voice is that of a sister, and beautifully familiar. The book I didn’t know I needed, but certainly did. We all do.

So much truth in this book!

Loved this book! The story telling here was phenomenal! She gave so much language for daily experiences that I didn’t always have words for.