Stand Up Strummer: A Tale of Sex, Love and Side-effects

by Russ Harris

It's time to enter the world of Max Strummer, a 30-something doctor who moonlights as a stand-up comedian. His medical practice is booming, his comedy career is taking off, and his three-year relationship with Sarah is thriving. But everything crashes the night he catches Sarah in bed with another woman. Following a painful break-up, Max slumps into a deep depression, from which nothing can lift him. Until he meets Orlanda. Stunning, vivacious, sexy, a successful photographer with a penchant for erotic pictures, Orlanda seems like the woman of Max's dreams. But as their relationship develops, Max begins to have doubts - and finds himself pulled between Sarah's desperate attempts to win him back and Orlanda's determined efforts to expand his sexual comfort zone. As he tries to cope with the problems of his private life, the mishaps of his medical practice, the chaos of his comedy career, and the trauma of his best friend's struggle with cancer, Max finds himself sinking into a sticky mess of sexual hang-ups.

322 pages, Paperback

First published February 18, 2010

About the author

Dr Russ Harris is a medically-qualified doctor, stress consultant, executive coach, trainer, author, and a leading authority in the powerful new paradigm of Psychological Flexibility. (This is a revolutionary new development in human psychology that enhances performance, reduces stress, and improves health and wellbeing.) Dr Russ regularly presents workshops on Psychological Flexibility at both national and international psychology conferences, and has a thriving business traveling around Australia running training seminars for psychologists, coaches and a variety of health professionals.

Dr Russ's first book, 'The Happiness Trap', was published in Australia in March 2007, and is already well on the way to becoming a bestseller. (The title reflects a key theme in the book - that popular ideas about happiness are misleading, inaccurate, and actually make us miserable in the long term.) He is currently completing his second book 'From Fear To Fulfilment' - which is also the title of his most popular talk.

Back in the early nineties, when Russ was a GP in Melbourne, he moonlighted as a stand-up comedian, and as well as appearing regularly on the Melbourne comedy circuit, he featured on TV shows such as Tonight Live with Steve Vizard, and The Mid-Day Show with Ray Martin. As a result of this experience, his talks are fast-paced, engaging and humorous - as well as being action-packed with information, tools, and techniques for reducing stress, enhancing performance, and increasing vitality.

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't quite sure at first what to expect from Harris. He has until now been known to me as the Mindfulness guy, the guy on the CD and the guy the wrote book with the confused smiley face.
A therapist type gave me vol 1 of Russ' Guide to Mindfulness audio cd. It was fantastic! I bought Vol 2 a year or so later and I admit I love his very calming nature, his odd mixed up acccent, his nose whistle, the way he says "belly" and "depressed about your depression" and so I was super excited to see he'd wrote a book not at all related to ACT and Mindfulness (not directly anyways).
So before I read this book he was a curly haired antipodean gentleman smiley and very warm.
After reading the book....PHOAR! Don't judge a Max Strummer by his cover!
Being a woman I cringed and raised a brow in all the places a man would laugh and nod (men worry about their testicular size?) and being a woman my heart ached when his ached.
I love this book and its stumbling cautiously into the literary domain like a foal finding its feet upon birth. I love that I've never actually READ stand up comedy and still LOLed.
I'm not sure if I would've loved this book as much if i wasn't already familiar with who Harris was and how IMHO he's revolutionising a way out of our wicked minds and into something awesome with forward moving moment and ugly bits and GOALS!
When I finished I thought "I want to read another one just like it...by Russ!!!" and wanted to hunt him down in the cyberstratosphere and make a request.
For now I'll just hug and reminise with my well worn paperback and try to get others excited about it.
Try this one if you're not afraid to laugh out loud and learn about bodily functions at the same time.
I happened to stumble upon this book at http://www.actmindfully.com.au/cds_an... im not sure if its available in any bookstores. Harris' other stuff is there so have a look if you dare

[Pam G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reminded me very much of High Fidelity by Nick Hornby, and therefore somewhat predictable. Nevertheless it was fun, with the occassional laugh out loud moment.

[Elizabeth Benton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stick with The Happiness Trap...