In the Low and Making Friends
Honest Prayers for Dark Seasons
by Justin McRoberts and Scott Erickson
There’s always surprises at the Festival, small delights and
big discoveries around books and authors I’m not acquainted with—same goes for
this year. I’ve often wondered: does timing matter? The algorithm is all over
the place. Upon first arriving, the energy is there, while on Saturday the last
day, the emotional levels are depleted. Am I more open to the universe at the
beginning or end? Just like the Michigan spring—there’s no predicting.
I picked up my name badge at registration and sat down to
scan the beautifully designed program. Then I visited the Exhibit Room where
there were very few literary journals represented. Hmmm, why?
Time remaining before the noon plenary, I wandered over to
the art space at Calvin, where Scott Erikson a Festival speaker had an exhibit.
I wasn’t familiar with his work. Apparently, he is big on social media; his
Instagram is wildly popular. The bio on the wall at the space told me he was
also a stand-up comedian, author/illustrator—and suffers from depression. Not a
surprise. A lot of overachievers have the same ailment. Highs and lows. His
latest book and the exhibit were titled (co-authored by Justin McRoberts) In
the Low.
The book is set in short, free verse accompanied by Scott’s drawings.
Musings, prayer offerings. From a wall panel, two questions: “If being in the Low
is part of how I exist, then how do I do that? How do I live and feel whole
when I am also feeling pressed down, shaken, and run over?
Depression runs on my mother’s side of the family—though
back in my grandmother’s day it was more like “can’t get out of bed, can’t
function.” I walked a gallery maze of words and images. One panel struck me:
Why aren’t deep friendships on folk’s bucket list?
I took a deep breath. I’d just been internally lamenting how
lonely I felt at the conference. No one spoke to me in the registration hall. I’m
used to quick chats there about the awesome program, maybe finding out what
brought them there, but I sat next to a woman who was on her phone the entire
time (granted, it was the space of a few minutes to drink a cup of coffee).
But, somehow, it portended how the Festival might go. I wanted to connect and
possibly network. Would it happen? I prayed to meet friends.
I swear to you, not more than an hour later I was sitting with Mary Jane Pories and Rhonda where we bonded over SO MUCH. We ended up over the next 3 days saving each other seats and eating meals together. They saw me off Saturday evening as I rode away on my bike with promises to stay in touch.
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