In the Low

Honest Prayers for Dark Seasons

by: Justin McRoberts, Scott Erickson

• Format

  E-Book

  ISBN

  9781493447015

  Pub. Date

  Oct 2025

  SRP

  $22.99

  Buy

About

We spend time in the Low because we are 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.

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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. 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 

"This book is not a cure, nor a map to a brighter shore, but a quiet companion for the journey. It shines a subtle light--not to banish the dark but to illuminate it, revealing the fragile beauty in being."--David Gungor, The Brilliance  

"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

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Endorsements

"In the Low has a permanent spot on my bookshelf, both as a spiritual director who holds prayerful space for others and as a human person who needs prayerful space held for me. 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

"This book is not a cure, nor a map to a brighter shore, but a quiet companion for the journey. In a world heavy with worry and shadowed by the ache of futility, it speaks not to fix but to witness. Its art, poetry, and prayers sit gently beside us, holding space for the weight we carry. It shines a subtle light--not to banish the dark but to illuminate it, revealing the fragile beauty in being. 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. Thank you for making something that helps to lift the darkness. I'd like to hand this beautiful book out left and right."

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. Too many words, 'helpful' prayers, and attempts to fix bruise and bind souls needing support and salve. Instead, this book gives just enough to make this moment, and the next, bearable. And, when you're ready, it offers to help you with your load, to amplify your cries, and to reorient you to Divine Goodness. 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."

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. McRoberts and Erickson combine poignant prayers with striking artistry to create something rare: a spiritual companion that neither minimizes mental health struggles nor sanitizes them with artificial light. They 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."

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

"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."

Levi The Poet, spoken word artist

"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."

Brian D. McLaren, author of Faith After Doubt and Life After Doom

"We all have places of Low inside of us, and just like every other place inside of us they deserve to be accompanied. In the Low is just that, 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."

Dr. Hillary L. McBride, psychologist, podcast host, author, and mother

"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 is that sort of wise companion--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. The book you hold is a treasure chest of words and images that will hold you up when you need it."

Jonathan Martin, author of How to Survive a Shipwreck and The Road Away from God

"This is not your mother's prayer book, though it did make me cry! In the Low is both simple and subversive, inviting us not simply into peace but fuller personhood. Inside the pages of this foxy book, Scott Erickson and Justin McRoberts have created space to be welcomed home into the wholeness that isn't actually lost on your lowest days."

K.J. Ramsey, licensed therapist and author of The Book of Common Courage

"In our aversion to the anguish that takes up residence in the deepest recesses of our souls--that grief that is our response to living in the real world--we humans distract ourselves from ourselves in innumerable ways, not least with our incessant verbosity. Thanks be to God, with In the Low, Scott Erickson and Justin McRoberts have offered the world an artifact of beauty and brevity. An icon that in its artistry and its economy of words circumvents our defenses, ushering us into that chamber of our interior lives that God has occupied from before the foundation of the world. 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. These pages create space to stop pretending everything is fine and instead invite us to rest in the sacred mystery of a God who stays, even when we're at our lowest. I'm grateful for this book. I only wish I had it sooner."

Kayla Craig, author of Every Season Sacred and To Light Their Way and creator of Liturgies for Parents

"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 gently dispel that piece of the darkness and 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."

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. Its combination of simple words and reflective images makes it the perfect companion for navigating the Lows that inevitably find us all."

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

"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."

Jay and Katherine Wolf, authors of Hope Heals, Suffer Strong, and Treasures in the Dark

"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."

Stephen Roach, host of Makers and Mystics podcast and founder of The Breath & The Clay creative arts collective

"In the Low is a companion that offers the rare precision of accurately naming where you are while not leaving you by yourself. The poetic words and images meet you with both tenderness and a knowing embrace. 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

"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."

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. 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."

Nick Laparra, podcast host of Let's Give a Damn

"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 offers glimmers of hope rather than stealing it. Many thanks, friends!"

Bradley Jersak, PhD, principal of St Stephen's University

"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."

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. You will find the concise brevity you need as light piercing the fog, one line and one brushstroke at a time."

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. 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."

Pete Wilson, life coach and author of Plan B: What To Do When God Doesn't Show Up

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