Ep 20: Rest in Conversation with Sullivan Summer - Why Rest as Liberation Reaches Far Beyond Self-Care (Part 1 of 2)

In Part 1 of this two-part, intimate and thought-provoking conversation, Dana Tenille Weekes is joined by a dear friend and listener, Sullivan Summer, a poet, essayist, and literary critic. Together, they explore the layers of personal transformation, ancestral wisdom, and how societal and familial conditioning undermine the vivid details of who we truly are.

Opening with the first two lines of Audre Lorde's poem, "Change of Season," Sullivan asks Dana, "Were you once someone else?" 

Sullivan also raises the question of whether Dana's definition of rest is meme-worthy, leading into a dialogue about the power of reimagining during times when people feel compelled to resist. 

And, before the first part of their conversation ends, Sullivan asks Dana to deeply explore rest as liberation with the question, "To be liberated, must you first be imprisoned?"

Marking the 20th episode of The Rest of Us, this conversation between dear friends explores self-trust, unlearning, and learning to let the world catch up with you—a kind of rest that reaches far beyond self-care.

⭐ About Sullivan Summer

Sullivan Summer is a poet, essayist, and literary critic. Her first poetry chapbook, Performance Anxiety, was published in 2025 through Black Sunflowers Poetry Press.  

Sullivan is a host for the New Books Network and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle, as well as the African American Intellectual History Society. Her Substack, Additions to the Archives, is a space for conversation with authors, academics, readers, and thinkers committed to the preservation and expansion of the Black collective archive.  

You can find Sullivan's work on her website, sullivansummer.com, on Substack @sullivansummer, and on Instagram @thesullivansummer. 

If this episode feels like a message or mirror, feel free to share it with someone who is looking to think about rest differently.

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Until next time, rest, my friends.

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