Tish Harrison Warren: Resilience and Hope in a Season of Exhaustion

We talk with award-winning author Tish Harrison Warren about how to navigate burnout and weariness. Two-thirds of Americans are dissatisfied with their work, and a sense of languishing is widespread. Many of us feel overwhelmed, spiritually dry, and filled with doubts… about our faith and about our place in this world.In her new book, What Grows in Weary Lands: On Christian Resilience (Convergent/Random House, 2026) Tish Warren draws from both her own season of exhaustion and the rich well of Christian tradition — particularly that of the earliest Christian monks — to discover the habits and mindsets that anchor us, give us resilience, and offer us hope.We discuss:* Tish was very busy after becoming a best-selling author. She was writing for the New York Times and Christianity Today as well as her next book. But she came to a place of burnout, when she became spiritually dry. She stopped all that writing and went off social media in order to explore how to get through these difficult times. She tells us what she learned in that time.* The things that make us weary are usually the good things in life, what Thomas Aquinas called “arduous goods.”* When we experience dryness and weariness, we choose to escape that through scrolling or binge-watching. But the Desert Fathers and Mothers chose to live in the deserts of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria. We can learn a lot from them as they struggle with the “dark night of the soul,” to find a deeper, more satisfying faith in God. Scroll down to learn more about Tish Harrison Warren.Thanks for listening!If you enjoyed this podcast, please share it with your friends!Your hosts are Dr. Bob Robinson and David Loughney. For further resources on reintegrating all of life with God’s mission, go to re-integrate.org.Tish Harrison WarrenTish Harrison Warren is a writer and an Anglican priest. She is the author of several books, including Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life, which won Christianity Today‘s 2018 Book of the Year, and Prayer in the Night: For Those Who Work, or Watch, or Weep, which won Christianity Today‘s 2022 Book of the Year and the 2022 ECPA Christian Book of the Year.She formerly wrote a weekly newsletter for The New York Times, which focused on faith in public discourse and private life. She was also a columnist for Christianity Today. Her articles and essays have appeared in Comment Magazine, The Point Magazine, Religion News Service and elsewhere.She currently serves as the C. S. Lewis Theological Writer-in-Residence for the Anglican Episcopal House of Studies at Baylor’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary. She is a senior fellow with The Trinity Forum. She and her husband Jonathan recently planted Immanuel Anglican Church. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and three children.Where to purchase these books: Support independent booksellers! Purchase any of the books mentioned above from Byron and Beth Borger at Hearts & Minds Bookstore. They are eager to serve God’s people with great books. Order online through their secure server or call 717-246-3333. Ask for 20% OFF by mentioning that you heard about these books on the Reintegrate Podcast! Get full access to Bob Robinson’s Substack at bobrobinsonre.substack.com/subscribe