Contemplative Art & Writing by Patricia Myerson
Tigers Above, Tigers Below
A Graphic Journal of My First Pandemic Year
This 40 page intimate memoir, bursting with colorful illustrations and spiced with wry humor, reveals one woman's journey through the pandemic—from nearly losing her mind to discovering her own wisdom and inner strength.
Anyone who felt isolated or afraid during 2020, or who is dealing with anxiety for any reason, is likely to resonate with Tigers Above, Tigers Below. The book will show them they are not alone, and that panic and worry can become gateways to growth— and even transform into wisdom.
“Tigers Above, Tigers Below captures the challenges and the full-range of human emotions many of us experienced during the pandemic, infused with great wit, wisdom, and clarity. We can all empathize with the images and anecdotes Myerson shares. They perfectly capture the upside down world we’ve been living in the past few years.”
- Cortland Dahl, Executive Director, Tergar International and Research Scientist at the University of Wisconsin's Center for Healthy Minds
"I read this book and then I read it again. And then again. It’s beautiful and full of feeling—pain and sorrow and fear, but also joy and humor and love and forgiveness—and wisdom. Myerson captures the way irrational fears can become normalized and accommodated and presents all the compounding minutiae of her panic so vividly. Her paintings echo other works like Munch and St Exupery but also have their own distinctive style (and glorious color), with dharma texts woven into the images. Despite the intensity of her unique experience, there is so much here that anyone can relate to.”
- Tracy Davis, Interfaith Hospital Chaplain
“I re-read Tigers Above, Tigers Below late last night when I couldn't sleep. It's such a beautiful, warm, wise, funny book. I love it. Myerson has such a fantastic ability to locate and render the tender humanity in daily life, even if daily life means a terrifying world-wide calamity.”
- Roy Goodwin, Being Nobody, Going Nowhere https://cotgww.blogspot.com/
"The book is remarkably beautiful. I found the writings and drawings to be powerfully honest, moving and funny, all at the same time. It brings me right back to the thick of the pandemic and how complicated and difficult it was for all of us, emotionally and psychologically. I love the creativity of the composition and how the animals become delightful, clever commentators; the reflections that have been tied together to make meaning of it all. So good; honestly one of my favorite reads this Spring."
- Bon Chan Illustrator, writer, and comic artist