A Note from the AuthorWhen the good people at Ten Speed Press agreed to publish this book—a collection of my most popular drawings about thoughts, feelings, worry, and empathy framed by a hopeful narrative—I was thrilled. I'd always wanted to make a long-form project and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to make something that couldn't exist on the internet—something that only made sense as a book. I was excited to get drawing.
But almost before I had time to register the excitement, I was overcome by another familiar emotion: worry.
I've lived with worry my whole life. It has been both a constant companion and a source of complete creative paralysis. I knew that if I allowed myself to worry now, about this book, then this book would not get made. I knew that if I let it, worry would soon dominate the whole project and I could run the risk of jeopardizing not only the book, but my own mental health as well.
And so I decided, for the first time in my life, that I was not going to let anxiety take control of my project that meant so much to me. The irony of having my own anxiety get in the way of a book about anxiety was not lost on me (or my therapist) so I made the decision that worry was not invited to participate in the making of this book.
Now, actually putting that decision into practice was of course a real challenge. Did I succeed? Well, reader, let's find out.
—Worry Lines
Copyright © 2021 by Worry Lines. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
