In Gratitude to Pegasus charts Tim Marshall’s journey through mental illness and recovery. It is divided into sections that reflect the different stages he experienced.

With many creative gifts he found it increasingly difficult to concentrate on developing any of them fully in order to pursue a career. Tim joined a Christian community and during a quiet time of prayer he had a life changing spiritual awakening which led him to relentlessly search for its meaning for the rest of his life.

Tim’s passion was frequenting bookshops with a keen eye for anything of a metaphysical nature. He studied the teachings of the ancient spiritual masters and became enchanted with many of the modern mystics, always searching for answers for the meaning of life and to put some light on his experiences in the Christian community. Tim learnt many meditation techniques and these played a pivotal role in his recovery from an ‘episode’.

It was Tim’s wish to write a book in order to help fellow sufferers. He felt strongly this need to help people. After the diagnosis of an aggressive sarcoma in 2009, Tim was feeling the pressure to write his book. Time was running out.

I feel blessed to have had Tim in my life. I have learnt so much from him and travelled along with him on his spiritual journey. I feel especially privileged being able to gather his poems, along with his drawings and personal reflections and to bring them all together. I don’t think Tim realised that his book was already written, the book that he hoped would help fellow sufferers. Despite all his suffering he remained a loving and thoughtful son. Tim insisted on calling these breakdowns, or episodes, ‘breakthroughs’, and likened it to peeling away the onion layers.

Tim said to me once after recovering from an episode, ‘Mum, this is who I am!’ I think this sums up Tim’s spirit, his ability to see the positive meaning in life despite his circumstances and by his very nature to inspire others.

Ruth Marshall