In the Low
- Bible Studies & Devotionals
- Counseling, Grief & Mental Health
- Preaching & Worship
- Publisher: Baker Books (Baker Publishing Group)
- Published: 2025
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Publisher's Description
We spend time in the Low because we're human, not because we're broken. In the Low is a collection of contemplative words and images for seasons of depression. It is a book designed to meet you where you are and sit with you there the way God does: intentionally and without judgment. For many of us, the question isn't whether or not we will enter into depression but how to be there when we do. In those low places, we experience disconnection from others, from a meaningful life, and from God, and it can be difficult to know what to think or pray. This is where art and the honest prayers of others can help us name what we're experiencing so we know we're not alone. In the Low is designed to meet you in the dark and linger there with you as you sit under the weight of depression or despair. Instead of shaming you for how you feel, minimizing your pain, or suggesting quick fixes, Justin McRoberts and Scott Erickson offer you prayers in language and imagery that can help you be honest and vulnerable with yourself and with God. Featuring poetic prayers for deeper relationships, healing from trauma, a hopeful future, and more, In the Low meets you where you are in your journey and calls you deeper into the heart of God--who is not afraid of the dark."In the Low has a permanent spot on my bookshelf."--Emily P. Freeman, New York Times bestselling author of How to Walk into a Room"Here is a tender guide, not to answers but to the shared humanity of searching, waiting, and finding meaning in the in-between."--David Gungor, The Brilliance "I can offer no higher compliment than this: Someone I love dearly picked up this book during a stretch of pressing darkness, and it helped them."--Shauna Niequist, author of I Guess I Haven't Learned That Yet"As someone who has wanted to end it all in her own season of depression, and who accompanies many others in theirs, In the Low is the gift I've longed for."--Tara Owens, executive director, Anam Cara Ministries, spiritual director, and author of Embracing the Body "In the Low gives voice to those struck speechless by despair, honoring the sacred truth that faith often speaks through the shadows."--Jonathan Merritt, columnist and author of Learning to Speak God from Scratch "This book resonates deeply within my angsty artist heart, and I'm so grateful it exists in the world."--Jess Janz, poet and founder of Dinner with Strangers "Scott and Justin created a hand to hold in the valley, and I'm grateful to the both of them for how warm it is."--Levi The Poet, spoken word artist "You will treasure this book, I predict, and come back to it again and again."--Brian D. McLaren, author of Faith After Doubt and Life After Doom"In the Low is accompaniment for the places inside that deserve to be known, the wordless places that need words, the dark and diffuse places that need form and shape."--Dr. Hillary L. McBride, psychologist, podcast host, author, and mother"A warm, tender, desperately needed book that doesn't speak about the ache but from inside of it."--Jonathan Martin, author of How to Survive a Shipwreck and The Road Away from God "In the Low is both simple and subversive, inviting us not simply into peace but fuller personhood."--K.J. Ramsey, licensed therapist and author of The Book of Common Courage"Encounter this book on its own terms. Encounter this book at the necessarily slow pace of God. And above all, encounter this book and come to know the joy of the God of the Low."--Curt Thompson, MD, author of The Deepest Place and The Soul of Desire"Permission to name the ache in our hearts without rushing to fix it."--Kayla Craig, author of Every Season Sacred and To Light Their Way and creator of Liturgies for Parents"Justin and Scott offer us words, images, and their own selves in ways that gently dispel that piece of the darkness and give us a sense of companions who see us, know us, and care."--Donna Hatasaki, senior director of spiritual formation, Young Life
Endorsements (21)
“I can offer no higher compliment than this: Someone I love dearly picked up this book during a stretch of pressing darkness, and it helped them. Thank you for making something that helps to lift the darkness. I’d like to hand this beautiful book out left and right.”
“As someone who has wanted to end it all in her own season of depression, and who accompanies many others in theirs, In the Low is the gift I ’ ve longed for . Too many words, attempts to fix, and ‘ helpful ’ prayers bruise and bind souls needing support and salve . In the Low’s words and images lean into each other in a structure of support, reminding readers of the tender and terrible gift of being human, and point toward the One who makes all this humaning have meaning, after all . I will be reaching for this resource for years to come .”
“Depression has a way of turning prayer into a foreign language, leaving us stammering in the dark for words we once spoke with ease. In the Low gives voice to those struck speechless by despair, honoring the sacred truth that faith often speaks through the shadows. McRoberts and Erickson grant us permission to bring our whole selves—including our deepest pain—and lay them before the Divine. I can’t recommend this book highly enough for all who need to be reminded that God meets us not despite our darkness but within it.”
“In the Low acts as a companion to our seasons of melancholy without rushing us to ‘fix’ anything. It meets us where we are, as we are. This book resonates deeply within my angsty artist heart, and I’m so grateful it exists in the world.”
““If you have experienced depression, or if you are close to someone who is in that low place right now, you know that well-meaning friends, family members, and clergy often say things that make you feel worse. As I read the honest, simple prayers in this book and let the clear and powerful illustrations do their work on me, I felt: ‘This will help, not hurt. This will help make things better, not worse.’ You will treasure this book, I predict, and come back to it again and again.”
“In the Low is an accompaniment for the places inside that deserve to be known, the wordless places that need words, the dark and diffuse places that need form and shape. In being met in the Low we can come to find how these places not only are part of being human but are full of treasures.”
“We don’t need prescriptive answers; we don’t need anyone to explain away the pain that can’t be rationalized to begin with. We only need companions who fully see us and know us where we are, in order to get through the night. In the Low “One of the most difficult parts of dwelling in a season of depression can be the feelings of isolation and loneliness that come with it. Through this book, Justin and Scott offer us words, images, and their own selves in ways that give us a sense of companions who see us, know us, and care. In my experience, that can make all the difference. Thank God for this offering and for these two faithful and prophetic friends.”
“Dark seasons aren’t optional—they’re the price of admission for being human. When my ticket gets pulled, this is the book I’ll always keep by my side. Its combination of simple words and reflective images makes it the perfect companion for navigating the Lows that inevitably find us all.”
“If the purpose of In the Low was to create an honest and hopeful collection of words and images, then mission accomplished. Erickson and McRoberts have truly given us a helpful companion to carry as we slow down and sit with what life has become.”
“This book is a poignant and powerful guide through our deepest seasons of longing and grief, darkness and despair. These words and images offer a simple but stunning hope when our own prayers and imaginations fall short.”
“Justin McRoberts and Scott Erickson have created a beautiful collection of word and image prayers for those of us trudging through the Low places. This work humanizes the dark seasons of life without being sentimental or prescriptive. I highly recommend this book to anyone who needs a bit of companionship through the hard work of healing and reconnection.”
“In the Low is a companion that offers the rare precision of accurately naming where you are while not leaving you by yourself. As a therapist, I’m always looking for books that combine humanity, compassion, and hope—books that will make us feel less alone. This is that book, and I will be recommending it often.”
“No one plans to be in the Low, but life has a way of ushering us there nonetheless. And speaking as someone who’s spent time there, I know how paralyzing it can be to make decisions while in those depths. My advice? Get a copy of In the Low before you need it—it’s precisely the kind of normalizing, affirming, and healing companion you’ll be grateful to have when the Low finds you.”
“Have you ever felt hugged by a book? If not, get ready, because this is that book. In this breathtaking volume, Scott and Justin offer us a tremendous tool that, I suspect, we’ll end up using on a regular basis. Their art and words are a balm for my oft weary soul and a reminder that it’s okay to not be okay. Friends, be prepared to read this book more than once.”
“I’m in a dark season again. So many are. Sometimes I DO need words when I have none, and I DO need images when my own screen is blank. I found the unutterable prayers of my heart in these pages. I needed a resource that is real and raw about my shadow times yet counterintuitively counterintuitively offers glimmers of hope rather than stealing it. Many thanks, friends!”
“There is nothing out there like this book. It is a must-buy. In my own seasons of Low I do not have the energy to read thousands of lofty words—I just need a hopeful image, a heartfelt thought, or words from a friend. This book gives you all three. Buy it for everyone you know because it is not if we will have a Low season but when. This book will lift you up when you need it.”
“Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. Sometimes a thousand words can’t express what can be said in a picture. This book, a unified gift of prayers and pictures, brilliantly strikes the heart more profoundly than a thousand books alone could do on the subject.”
“In the Low offers a deeply human, prayerful companion for those seasons of inner turmoil. This book is not just a guide—it is an invitation to reconnect with the sacred conversations we are already having, often unnoticed, within ourselves. Through powerful words and images, the authors encourage us to stop striving for ‘better’ or ‘fixed’ and instead to slow down and listen deeply to the Divine presence who is always with us, even in our lowest moments.”
“I’ve heard someone describe art and poetry as ‘language in service of the Unsayable.’ There’s nothing like finding those kinds of words in seasons when they’re so often absent—let alone paired with images so capable of stoking ashes into awe. I felt seen and loved (at the same time?!) in these pages. I found words my spirit has only been able to groan (I even caught her dancing with the Low). Scott and Justin created a hand to hold in the valley, and I’m grateful to the both of them for how warm it is.”
“Any and every page of this work is a lifeline for the depth of depression and a direct line to the divine. You will find the concise brevity you need as light piercing the fog, one line and one brushstroke at a time.”
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