God loves a fretter by Sam Batley is a book of two parts, the body and the heart. It delves into my own and familial relationship with fretting through visual language and family collaboration. Stepping into the perfect duality that exists between fear and faith, born out of photographic process and the subjects that draw me, belly first. The body birthed an opportunity to examine the sensations the images present. How they interact between thought, feeling and emotion.

Photos stand at the intersection of the internal and the external. They ask questions of me, present themes, reveal patterns. I use photography as a tool to challenge beliefs of self and other. This body brought to the fore a deeper awareness of how my relationship with fretting presents in life, opening a wider conversation between my family. We are a family of self-admitted fretters, acknowledging its impact together through our individual and collective recovery. The heart of the book sits in its centre. It beats with my Mum, Jenny and two sisters Hannah and Grace in their response to the themes, photos, and definition ‘to fret is to devour or corrode’. They respond in their own words and experience, separate from each other, in their own time.

Fretting provides a constant opportunity to take a leap of faith. A comfort zone that expands everytime I leave it. When I confront worry I reclaim myself. Fretting is a catalyst for transformation, a reminder of purpose, a gentle opportunity to love.

God loves a fretter offers an invitation to worry, to fret, to be curious with it, to challenge it, learn from it, an opportunity to be kind and loving to the place it lives.