In the Low - by Justin McRoberts & Scott Erickson (Hardcover)

About the Book

For anyone experiencing anxiety, depression, and the dark night of the soul, this collection of prayers illuminates a new and honest way to experience your belovedness as you encounter the God of love. Includes stunning original artwork.

Book Synopsis

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. I'm grateful for the unhurried connection Scott and Justin offer to us through their words, images, and humanity."--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

"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."--Jonathan Merritt, columnist and author of Learning to Speak God from Scratch

"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."--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

"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."--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

"In the Low is a warm, tender, desperately needed book that doesn't speak about the ache but from inside of it. This is the rare work of 'spirituality' that is not abstract, detached, clichéd, or avoidant but instead gives us the language to speak the unspeakable."--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

"In the Low gives us permission to name the ache in our hearts without rushing to fix it. What a relief to discover honest prayers and art that offer a flicker of hope for the dark nights of the soul."--Kayla Craig, author of Every Season Sacred and To Light Their Way and creator of Liturgies for Parents

"Through this book, 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

"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."--Brit Barron, author of Should You Still Talk to Grandma?

"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."--Tanner Olson, author and poet

"Poignant and powerful. These words and images offer a simple but stunning hope when our own prayers and imaginations fall short."--Jay and Katherine Wolf, authors of Hope Heals, Suffer Strong, and Treasures in the Dark

"This work humanizes the dark seasons of life without being sentimental or prescriptive. I highly recommend it to anyone who needs a bit of companionship through the hard work of healing and reconnection."--Stephen Roach, host of Makers and Mystics podcast and founder of The Breath & The Clay creative arts collective

"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."--Monica DiCristina, MA, LPC, therapist and author of Your Pain Has a Name

"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."--Colby Martin, author of Unclobber and The Shift


"Have you ever felt hugged by a book? If not, get ready, because this is that book."--Nick Laparra, podcast host of Let's Give a Damn

"I found the unutterable prayers of my heart in these pages."--Bradley Jersak, PhD, principal of St Stephen's University

"There is nothing out there like this book. Buy it for everyone you know because it is not if we will have a Low season but when."--Katie Quesada, storytelling consultant

"Any and every page of this work is a lifeline for the depth of depression and a direct line to the Divine."--J. S. Park, hospital chaplain and author of As Long As You Need: Permission to Grieve

"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."--Mike Donehey, musician and author of Grace in the Gray

"In a world where many of us struggle to navigate the weight of depression and anxiety, In the Low offers a deeply human, prayerful companion for those seasons of inner turmoil."--Pete Wilson, life coach and author of Plan B: What To Do When God Doesn't Show Up

From the Back Cover

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.


"In the Low has a permanent spot on my bookshelf. I'm grateful for the unhurried connection Scott and Justin offer to us through their words, images, and humanity. This one is a must-read for anyone in any kind of low."--Emily P. Freeman, New York Times bestselling author of How to Walk into a Room

"We humans distract ourselves from ourselves in innumerable ways, not least with our incessant verbosity. With In the Low, Scott Erickson and Justin McRoberts have offered the world an artifact of beauty and brevity, ushering us into that chamber of our interior lives that God has occupied from before the foundation of the world."--Curt Thompson, MD, author of The Deepest Place and The Soul of Desire


Justin McRoberts is an author, coach, speaker, and songwriter. When he's not writing, speaking, or coaching, you can find him as the host of the At Sea Podcast. He lives in the East San Francisco Bay Area. Learn more at JustinMcRoberts.com.

Scott Erickson is a painter, author, and performance artist creating a visual vocabulary for the spiritual journey. When he's not touring, you can find him at home in Vancouver, Washington. Learn more at ScottEricksonArt.com.

About the Author

Justin McRoberts is an author, coach, speaker, and songwriter. When he's not writing, speaking, or coaching, you can find him as the host of the At Sea Podcast. He lives in the East San Francisco Bay Area. Learn more at JustinMcRoberts.com.
Scott Erickson is an artist, author, performance speaker, and creative curate. Scott's work has appeared on CNN, National Geographic, and various magazines, newspaper outlets, and book covers. Scott lives in Vancouver, Washington. Learn more at ScottEricksonArt.com.