The Rest of Us with Dana Tenille Weekes

What are the communities that provide your updrafts to soar or rest when the world feels heavy, or the wind swings us off course? In this Poetic Interlude, Sher “The Grizzly Care Bear” Ratnabalasuriar reads “After Shawna Lemay’s 'In Lieu of Flowers.'”

Creatives, including poets, show us how to embrace our humanity and act on our truths. We in The Rest of Us community view this as a deep connection to one’s own agency — our definition of rest.

Settle into the work of Sher “The Grizzly Care Bear” Ratnabalasuriar and even explore your own creativity, which we define as liberatory rest.

ABOUT SHER

Sher Ratnabalasuriar is a connector of ideas, contexts, theories, and methods. She is a collector of yarns, anecdotes, hypotheticals, and lines of flight, pulled into delicious new forms. As an educator, facilitator, and writer, Sher connects to people’s unique experiences, developing new ways of seeing themselves, their communities, and orbits. She’s written and performed poems for VONA’s 2024 Summer hybrid poetry cohort, Theodore Roethke House's Writing Retreat, and is one of the Voices featured in the Saginaw Valley Spoken Word Podcast’s Spoken Voices Project. Join her in Grizzly Care Bear mode as she walks ley lines and dream-fishes through the multiverses.

Say “hello” to Sher on Instagram @grizzlycarebearing. 

You can also visit therestofuspodcast.com to read Sher’s poem and reflection prompt, along with other poets in the Poetic Interlude community.

PODCAST TEAM

Host, Dana Tenille Weekes

Producer, Annabelle Oh

Editor, Sagheer Muhammad

Content Manager, Annabelle Oh

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

🎙️ Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.
 ⭐ Leave a 5-star review. (We are grateful for you doing so.) 

Until next time, rest, my friends.

Connect with Us
Website:

• www.therestofuspodcast.com  

Instagram:

• @therestofus.podcast
• @danatenilleweekes

Substack:

• @therestofuspodcast

LinkedIn:

• Dana Tenille Weekes

What spaces in your life hold the tension of hardship and relief? In this Poetic Interlude, Atena O. Danner reads “Petit Marronage.”

Creatives, including poets, show us how to embrace our humanity and act on our truths. We in The Rest of Us community view this as a deep connection to one’s own agency — our definition of rest.

Settle into the work of Atena O. Danner and even explore your own creativity, which we define as liberatory rest.

ABOUT ATENA

Atena O. Danner is a cultural worker who imagines Black liberation engaged in boundless curiosity. As a poet, singer, and visual artist, Atena’s work covers topics, including neurodiversity, human connection, and collective liberation. An organizer and activist, Atena works to incorporate struggles for justice into her life as a caregiver while also writing and publishing in journals and anthologies. She is a Roots. Wounds. Words. fellow, an Anaphora Writers Residency fellow, an alum of the Hurston/Wright Writers Week, and of Immersion Writers Africa. Her first book, Incantations for Rest: Poems, Meditations & Other Magic, won a Nautilus Silver Award for poetry in 2023. 

Say “hello” to Atena on Instagram @atenadelight. 

You can also visit therestofuspodcast.com to read Atena’s poem and reflection prompt, along with other poets in the Poetic Interlude community.

PODCAST TEAM

Host, Dana Tenille Weekes

Producer, Annabelle Oh

Editor, Sagheer Muhammad

Content Manager, Annabelle Oh

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

🎙️ Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.
 ⭐ Leave a 5-star review. (We are grateful for you doing so.) 

Until next time, rest, my friends.

Connect with Us
Website:

• www.therestofuspodcast.com  

Instagram:

• @therestofus.podcast
• @danatenilleweekes

Substack:

• @therestofuspodcast

LinkedIn:

• Dana Tenille Weekes

Many of us are searching for the "secret" to making that change in our lives. But what if the first question you need to ask yourself is: Am I willing, wishful, or willful in wanting to live differently? 

In our Season Two Finale, Judeline Altema-Commey, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) and CEO of Guidance of Hope joins host Dana Tenille Weekes to unpack the true power of being willing. 

After a podcast episode or agency workshop Dana facilitates, a common question she receives is “How can I *really* get ready to make this change?” While always asked with sincerity and curiosity, Dana often replies, “You must be willing to make the change,” which is met with questioning, hesitation, or a labored sigh.

This episode explores what it really means to be willing to live differently with intention, rather than through reactive measures that leave us where we started. Dana believes that being willing is necessary to navigate the world with an agency practice and in a rest mindset. Otherwise, listening to this podcast passes the time but doesn’t make true use of it.

WHAT YOU’LL SETTLE INTO

• Why many of us think we’re willing to make a change, but we’re not. 
• The difference between being willing, wishful, and willful.
• Why protection from the past and others’ dependencies challenge our ability to be willing. 
• How showing yourself grace is not the same as giving up on yourself.

KEY QUOTES & INSIGHTS

• Being willing will eventually ask us to examine our relationship to redefining what safety means to us and our future selves.
• “To be willing is to be in a season to receive and do the work it requires.” - Judeline Altema
• “People aren’t used to you being the reaper, when they are used to you being their sower.” - Judeline Altema

WANT THE CONVERSATION TO CONTINUE?

 Read AFTERTHOUGHTS, the conversation after the (podcast) conversation — only on Substack. Subscribe to get AFTERTHOUGHTS delivered to your inbox. (Written interviews drop one week after the episode’s release.) 

ABOUT GUEST JUDELINE ALTEMA-COMMEY

Judeline Altema-Commey, MA, LCPC, is a licensed behavioral therapist and clinical supervisor who understands the silence, resilience, and survival patterns that shape how mental health is experienced, expressed, and passed down across generations. 

As founder of Guidance of Hope, Judeline offers online and in-person counseling to help individuals, couples, and families move from survival to intentional living. She specializes in intergenerational trauma, emotional regulation, and relationship patterns within Black communities, while also centering the trauma and lack of mental health awareness within Afro-Caribbean and African cultures. 

She is also co-host of the podcast Couch Chronicles: Therapists After Dark, which breaks down mental health, relationships, and cultural dynamics in a way that is real, unfiltered, and rooted in psychoeducation.

You can find Judeline on Instagram at @guidanceofhope and couchchroniclesllc.

You can visit Guidance of Hope at guidanceofhope.com, and you can watch podcast episodes of Couch Chronicles on YouTube or listen on podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

You can also visit therestofuspodcast.com to learn more about Judeline and this episode.

PODCAST TEAM

Host, Dana Tenille Weekes

Editor, Sagheer Muhammad

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

🎙️ Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.
 ⭐ Leave a 5-star review. (We are grateful for you doing so.) 

Until next time, rest, my friends.

Connect with Us
Website:

• www.therestofuspodcast.com  

Instagram:

• @therestofus.podcast
• @danatenilleweekes

Substack:

• @therestofuspodcast

LinkedIn:

• Dana Tenille Weekes

What practices of care do I offer to, and receive from, those I love? In this Poetic Interlude, Malik Thompson reads “Overture,” first published in Hayden’s Ferry Review.

Creatives, including poets, show us how to embrace our humanity and act on our truths. We in The Rest of Us community view this as a deep connection to one’s own agency — our definition of rest.

Settle into the work of Malik Thompson and even explore your own creativity, which we define as liberatory rest.

ABOUT MALIK

Malik Thompson (he/they) is a queer African-American person living in Baltimore. Having worked in independent bookstores for many years, he is also the former Co-Chair of OutWrite DC and has taught workshops for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Hurston/Wright Foundation, and other organizations. His work has been published in the Cincinnati Review, Denver Quarterly, Hayden’s Ferry Review, and elsewhere. He has received fellowships and residencies from organizations including Cave Canem, Lambda Literary, the Anderson Center, and Monson Arts.

Say “hello” to Malik on Instagram @latesummerstar. 

You can also visit therestofuspodcast.com to read Malik’s poem and reflection prompt, along with other poets in the Poetic Interlude community.

PODCAST TEAM

Host, Dana Tenille Weekes

Producer, Annabelle Oh

Editor, Sagheer Muhammad

Content Manager, Annabelle Oh

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

🎙️ Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.
 ⭐ Leave a 5-star review. (We are grateful for you doing so.) 

Until next time, rest, my friends.

Connect with Us
Website:

• www.therestofuspodcast.com  

Instagram:

• @therestofus.podcast
• @danatenilleweekes

Substack:

• @therestofuspodcast

LinkedIn:

• Dana Tenille Weekes

What is something happening (or not happening) in your life, where you are rushing the pace to force fruition? In this Poetic Interlude, Tatiana Johnson-Boria reads her poem “The Daughter Becomes Her Mother’s Body,” first published in ONLY POEMS.

Creatives, including poets, show us how to embrace our humanity and act on our truths. We in The Rest of Us community view this as a deep connection to one’s own agency — our definition of rest.

Settle into the work of Tatiana Johnson-Boria and even explore your own creativity, which we define as liberatory rest.

ABOUT TATIANA

Tatiana Johnson-Boria is the author of Nocturne in Joy, winner of the Julia Ward Howe Book Prize in Poetry. She was raised in Boston, on the unceded land of the Massachusett people, and is an educator, artist, and mother. She’s received fellowships and awards from McCormack Writing Center (formerly known as Tin House), the Massachusetts Cultural Council, The MacDowell Residency, among others. She still lives in Massachusetts with her partner and son.

Say “hello” to Tatiana on Instagram @tatianajboria. 

You can also visit therestofuspodcast.com to read Tatiana's poem and reflection prompt, along with other featured poets in the Poetic Interlude community.

PODCAST TEAM

Host, Dana Tenille Weekes

Producer, Annabelle Oh

Editor, Sagheer Muhammad

Content Manager, Annabelle Oh

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

🎙️ Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.
 ⭐ Leave a 5-star review. (We are grateful for you doing so.) 

Until next time, rest, my friends.

Connect with Us
Website:

• www.therestofuspodcast.com  

Instagram:

• @therestofus.podcast
• @danatenilleweekes

Substack:

• @therestofuspodcast

LinkedIn:

• Dana Tenille Weekes

Do you live alive? 

What if you navigated the world knowing you have a genius?

In this episode of The Rest of Us, host Dana Tenille Weekes holds space for listeners to (1) let them know they have a genius; and (2) identify and live in their genius. Dana admits that “genius” can feel like a strong, strong word to wear in a society where performative insecurities and, in turn, performative power reign. But She offers reflection questions to help listeners understand that owning their genius is necessary to living alive.

Dana also explores the relationship between humbleness and genius, asking listeners, “Do you humble to hide or humble to hold your genius?”

WHAT YOU’LL SETTLE INTO

• Dana’s definition of genius and its connection to living alive
• Three reflection questions to help identify your genius
• The difference between ego and genius 
• Humble to hide vs. humble to hold your genius

KEY QUOTES & INSIGHTS

• “We must live to feel alive.” — Ariana Brown, Poet
• “Nowadays, there is this corrupt idea that the more money you make, the more innovative and genius you are. This is a fallacy.”
• “You act from your ego when you command attention because you don’t trust yourself.”
• “You are humble to hide your genius when you foreclose opportunities for people to decide on you.”

PODCAST TEAM

Host, Dana Tenille Weekes

Editor, Sagheer Muhammad

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

🎙️ Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.
 ⭐ Leave a 5-star review. (We are grateful for you doing so.) 

Until next time, rest, my friends.

Connect with Us
Website:

• www.therestofuspodcast.com  

Instagram:

• @therestofus.podcast
• @danatenilleweekes

Substack:

• @therestofuspodcast

LinkedIn:

• Dana Tenille Weekes

What are the qualities, obvious and subtle, that show up for you? 

This Poetic Interlude features Benin Lemus and also celebrates the 20th Anniversary of Torch Literary Arts, an organization established to publish and promote creative writing by Black women.

In this Poetic Interlude, Benin Lemus, a Torch Feature and known poet in the Torch community, reads “The Fifth City,” first published by the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles, as part of their Cultural Trailblazers 2026 artist recognition.

Creatives, including poets, show us how to embrace our humanity and act on our truths. We in The Rest of Us community view this as a deep connection to one’s own agency — our definition of rest. 

Settle into the work of Benin Lemus and even explore your own creativity, which we define as liberatory rest.

ABOUT BENIN

Benin Lemus (she/her) is a Los Angeles-based poet, librarian, and educator. Her 2022 debut poetry collection, Dreaming in Mourning, was published by World Stage Press. She was an Inaugural Workshop Fellow with Obsidian Magazine’s O|Sessions: Black Listening—A Performance Master Class, a Pushcart Prize nominee, and received Honorable Mention in the 2022 Furious Flower Poetry Center’s annual competition. Her work has appeared in numerous literary journals, including Callaloo, Consequence, and TORCH Literary Arts Magazine, among others. In 2024, Benin served as the poetry judge for AWP’s Intro Journals Project. She teaches poetry in the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program. 

Say “hello” to Benin on Instagram @beninlemus_poet.

Visit Benin’s website to learn more about her and Dreaming in Mourning, and Torch’s website to learn more about this phenomenal organization and how to get involved or donate.

You can also visit therestofuspodcast.com to read Benin’s poem and reflection prompt, along with other featured poets in the Poetic Interlude community.

PODCAST TEAM

Host, Dana Tenille Weekes

Producer, Annabelle Oh

Editor, Sagheer Muhammad

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

🎙️ Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.
 ⭐ Leave a 5-star review. (We are grateful for you doing so.) 

Until next time, rest, my friends.

Connect with Us
Website:

• www.therestofuspodcast.com  

Instagram:

• @therestofus.podcast
• @danatenilleweekes

Substack:

• @therestofuspodcast

LinkedIn:

• Dana Tenille Weekes

How do you find honey in the marrow of the night and pass the cup around? 

This Poetic Interlude features Amanda Johnston and also celebrates the 20th Anniversary of Torch Literary Arts, an organization established to publish and promote creative writing by Black women.

In this Poetic Interlude, Amanda Johnston, Founder of Torch, reads her poem “For Loud Women Like Me,” first published in Callaloo Volume 41 Issue 1.

Creatives, including poets, show us how to embrace our humanity and act on our truths. We in The Rest of Us community view this as a deep connection to one’s own agency — our definition of rest. 

Settle into the work of Amanda Johnston and even explore your own creativity, which we define as liberatory rest.

ABOUT AMANDA

Amanda Johnston is a writer, visual artist, and the 61st Poet Laureate of Texas. She is the author of Another Way to Say Enter and editor of the anthology Praisesong for the People: Poems from the Heart and Soul of Texas. Her work has appeared in numerous online and print publications, among them Callaloo, Poetry Magazine, The Moth, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. She has received fellowships, grants, and awards from Cave Canem, The Watermill Center, Academy of American Poets, among others. She is a former Board President of the Cave Canem Foundation and the founder of Torch Literary Arts. 

Say “hello” to Amanda on Instagram @poetamandajohnston.

Visit Amanda’s website to learn more about her and Praisesong for the People: Poems from the Heart and Soul of Texas, and Torch’s website to learn more about this phenomenal organization and how to get involved or donate.

You can also visit therestofuspodcast.com to read Amanda's poem and reflection prompt, along with other featured poets in the Poetic Interlude community.

PODCAST TEAM

Host, Dana Tenille Weekes

Producer, Annabelle Oh

Editor, Sagheer Muhammad

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

🎙️ Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.
 ⭐ Leave a 5-star review. (We are grateful for you doing so.) 

Until next time, rest, my friends.

Connect with Us
Website:

• www.therestofuspodcast.com  

Instagram:

• @therestofus.podcast
• @danatenilleweekes

Substack:

• @therestofuspodcast

LinkedIn:

• Dana Tenille Weekes

Have you felt you’ve met milestones in your life that, as a child, people implied were supposed to be mountaintops, but they aren't? If you’re not saying, “No,” then this episode is for you.

In this episode of The Rest of Us, host Dana Tenille Weekes asks three questions for listeners who have a choice to no longer succeed without surviving, which she calls thriving. She poses these questions to help you determine whether you’re in a system you must leave, rather than pretending it is working for you while you're in unbearable exhaustion.

Dana curated this episode to remind listeners that they are likely relying on too many institutions and society-sourced systems (on which our workplaces are built) to define their worth. 

And for listeners who have the choice to succeed without surviving, Dana challenges them with reflection questions to start honest conversations with themselves. Because, as she says, if you’re waiting for the system to validate or save you, it won’t. 

WHAT YOU’LL SETTLE INTO

• How systems prioritize your brand over your personhood.
• How systems use productivity as a proxy for accountability.
• How resilience can be a coded word for accommodation.
• Three reflection prompts to foster an honest conversation with yourself about whether you’re in a system that requires you to survive or thrive.

KEY QUOTES & INSIGHTS

• “Systems and institutions will always have clear plans — strategies, metrics, and sufficient resources — for what they prioritize and want to invest in. So if there is an absence of such, the question is: what absence is constantly hindering your growth and advancement?”
• “What we are seeing is that leadership is defined by profits and performative metrics, rather than true problem-solving. And the result is that these leaders can lead without accountability, because they treat productivity as the same thing. It's not.”
• “Some organizations are asking you to be resilient to problems they create and don’t want to solve.”

PODCAST TEAM

Host, Dana Tenille Weekes

Editor, Sagheer Muhammad

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

🎙️ Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.
 ⭐ Leave a 5-star review. (We are grateful for you doing so.) 

Until next time, rest, my friends.

Connect with Us
Website:

• www.therestofuspodcast.com  

Instagram:

• @therestofus.podcast
• @danatenilleweekes

Substack:

• @therestofuspodcast

LinkedIn:

• Dana Tenille Weekes

What do you want to do with your life that has been given breath? 

In this Poetic Interlude, Mary McAfoose reads her poem “Just because you can.”

Creatives, including poets, show us how to embrace our humanity and act on our truths. We in The Rest of Us community view this as a deep connection to one’s own agency — our definition of rest. 

Settle into the work of Mary McAfoose and even explore your own creativity, which we define as liberatory rest.

ABOUT MARY

Mary McAfoose (she/her) is a poet based in Seattle, on land of the Duwamish. She is obsessed with making poetry relatable and accessible and seeks to further connect people with each other (and themselves) through writing. She is a member of Common Area Maintenance (CAM)’s writing leadership team, dedicated to cultivating a creative community in Seattle. Her poems have been published in Room, Prosetrics, Ink in Thirds, and elsewhere. Mary holds an electrical engineering degree, and when not working corporate tech jobs, she enjoys writing dangerous truths, reading, and playing video games.

Say “hello” to Mary on Instagram @moose_a_foose.

You can also visit therestofuspodcast.com to read Mary's poem and reflection prompt, along with other featured poets in the Poetic Interlude community.

PODCAST TEAM

Host, Dana Tenille Weekes

Producer, Annabelle Oh

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

🎙️ Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.
 ⭐ Leave a 5-star review. (We are grateful for you doing so.) 

Until next time, rest, my friends.

Connect with Us
Website:

• www.therestofuspodcast.com  

Instagram:

• @therestofus.podcast
• @danatenilleweekes

Substack:

• @therestofuspodcast

LinkedIn:

• Dana Tenille Weekes