Part memoir, part self-help book, this slim volume tells the story of how Beatrice Walsh has been able to not only survive but thrive as she lives with a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder. When the book begins, Walsh is a mother of three, a loving wife, and a part-time plant nursery worker who believes she also has a secret, dangerous job as a consultant for an anti-terrorist police force. After the people around Walsh help her realize that her erratic behavior comes from mental illness and not from her stressful covert missions, she must learn to deal with her difficult diagnosis.

Walsh seeks professional help and finds the right balance of medication to help with her delusions, but her treatments are not always able to stave off feelings of depression so deep that she considers suicide. Walsh sets out to free herself from her own personal “black hole.” Through much self-reflection and study of many different fields, she begins to find a balance in her life: the eponymous point of equilibrium. She combines teachings from Christianity, Buddhist readings, and self-help books to develop a life regimen that helps keep the “void” of her illness at bay.

The prose in this book alternates between a stream-of-conscious writing style and direct self-tips, with prose-poem-like line breaks and font changes for important ideas. This format seems to mirror Walsh’s inner thought process—vacillating from turmoil to order—and helps to illustrate her mindset as she embarks on her journey to better mental health. The lessons Walsh learns and shares to help herself, such as embracing slowing down, practicing loving kindness, and including daily prayer and meditation, are useful for readers of any kind.

Return to USR Home