Ian Harvey
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Ian Harvey
Life, Death, and the Bits In Between That No One Talks About
by Ian M. Harvey
Life Support and Other Weird Stories is a darkly funny, sharply observed memoir by Ian Harvey, blending hospital misadventures with life’s more ridiculous moments. Each story offers a dose of humour, heart, and the occasional visit from the irrepressible Dr. Fritz Heckler. It’s a collection of true tales where survival meets satire—and laughter is the best medicine.
When Ian Harvey landed in the ICU, he didn’t expect it to come with a plot twist, a minor identity crisis, and a front-row seat to the absurdity of modern medicine. But this is just one chapter in a life that seems to veer between the poignant and the preposterous.
In Life Support and Other Weird Stories, Ian invites readers into a series of sharply observed, often hilarious reflections on what it means to be human—especially when that humanity is hooked up to a beeping machine or served tea in a cardboard cup.
From the surgical bed to a late birthday party, from a schoolyard epiphany to the delicate business of public speaking while wearing the wrong pants, each story balances misadventure with insight, and humour with heart. And of course, no collection would be complete without the occasional cameo from Dr. Fritz Heckler—Austria’s least qualified (and most confident) medical advisor.
This isn’t just a memoir. It’s a guided tour through a life full of unexpected detours, with one foot in the hospital and the other in the ridiculous.
Come for the life support. Stay for the weird stories.
“Great story, enjoyed the tale, as always. ”
Mike O'Hagan
“Goodness. Just saw Mission Impossible 8 - you make that look like a walk in the park! ”
Anne Riches
“Nature’s cruel…but seeing it through comic eyes is a gift. ”
Kevin Ryan
Cunningly disguised as a responsible adult, uniquley maladjusted, but fun. Ian is a seventy something retiree with nothing more to do than create a legacy that will make you wonder how he even lived this long
Ian started writing serious reference material in the 1990's—think business wisdom, tech jargon, and the kind of stuff that makes you sound clever at dinner parties. But these days, he's swapped spreadsheets for short stories, travel logs, and compilations of things he probably should’ve kept to himself. You’ll find them all here in this very store. If you’re after the musings of a nondescript Antipodean with a foggy memory and just enough brainpower to operate a kettle, you’re in luck—Ian's books are entertaining, occasionally enlightening, and 100% typo-tested (by someone else, hopefully). But if you were hoping to dine at the intellectual table of a world-renowned Austrian psychologist... well, Ian can fake the accent. Check out his stuff—you might laugh, learn, or at the very least, wonder how it ever got published.
A series of interrelated stories
When Tony Quinlan dies while rescuing a woman from floodwaters, those who loved him are forced to confront the man they thought they knew. Through a series of linked stories, Did You Know Him? uncovers the private griefs, buried memories, family wounds and quiet acts of love that shaped one man’s life — and asks whether we ever truly know another person.
A Cruising Misadventure
What was meant to be the elegant finale to a Mediterranean cruise became something else entirely: an ambulance at dawn, a foreign hospital, a mountain of luggage, no useful Italian, and one husband trying very hard to look as though he knew what he was doing.
When Ranine became seriously ill in Italy, she and Ian found themselves stranded in Rome, caught between emergency wards, insurance calls, embassy contacts, unfamiliar medical systems, unreliable taxis, mysterious meals, and the small problem of getting home alive.
Told in two voices, Our Roman Holiday is both a comic travel misadventure and a deeply personal account of fear, love, kindness, and survival. Ian notices the absurdity: the luggage, the lost directions, the strange bathrooms, the scooter rides, the banana incident, and the heroic search for edible food. Ranine remembers the other side: the breathlessness, the waiting, the frightened faces, the quiet courage needed when life suddenly changes without asking permission.
Together, their stories become more than a hospital memoir or a travel diary. They are a reminder that love is often practical, that strangers can be unexpectedly kind, and that getting home can feel like being handed your life all over again.
A cruising misadventure, a Roman rescue mission, and a love story — with slightly better medical supervision than originally planned.
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