The Art of Riding Stress Waves: Self-help psychology for an anxious age by Dr Wayne R Somerville. 

     I love this book! Such a pleasure to read … and it speaks so clearly to me. So beautifully readable that I found it hard to set aside to get on with my chores.

     Dr Wayne Somerville has really nailed it. Arming us with the tools, tips and techniques we need, he takes us on a pathway, a journey to finding our peace and our joy … bringing us home.

     As I neared the end of the final chapter, I felt so emotional, such a wave of gratitude for this book. What an extraordinary achievement! What a difference it will make in so many lives.  A gift to mankind certainly but in these troubled times, so much more than that … A gift to the Earth and all that dwell on her.

     Meg K Nielsen     

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     This book is truly amazing! I was privileged to have a sneak preview, reading it last month & was totally in awe of Dr Wayne Somerville's way of clearly sharing his decades of knowledge & understanding to show how each one of us can learn to ride the stress waves so prevalent in these anxious times. An absolutely wonderful self-help psychology but so much more. Most of all, I was inspired to realise that this was a true gift to mankind... & the Earth as we understand our place in the community & nature, learning how to navigate the stressful times in our lives with ease & grace & hope.

     Meg K Nielsen (on Facebook)

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     One only has to open one’s daily news feed to see the looming stress tsunamis forming in the distance. And it is so terribly easy to go into fear and anxiety, especially as a loving parent. But what if those feelings could be flipped to leave you feeling empowered and optimistic? What if you could not only confront those waves but ride them with grace and style?

     This is the extraordinary power of Dr Wayne Somerville’s book The Art of Riding Stress Waves. It is an easy-to-read masterclass in self-help psychology and a priceless offering to the world at this critical junction. Hearing the wisdom and calm of Wayne’s voice as I read not only left me feeling optimistic and hopeful about the future, I felt like my own personal fully qualified psychologist! It has been my constant companion, especially after digesting my daily news feed.

     They say there is nothing more powerful than a book or idea whose time has come. Well here it is - a must read in these troubled times for you and the people you care about. But hey, the surf’s up so let's enjoy the ride!

Brendan Shoebridge

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      I found The Art of Riding Stress Waves to be very reader friendly – clear and easy to understand even when discussing complex ideas.

     I now have a new appreciation of anxiety and what purpose it has in our lives. I have always been prone to anxiety about the small stuff. After reading this book, I can look at those stresses in a new way and get a better perspective on what’s important, what I really need to pay attention to, and how I can go about dealing with my challenges.

     I especially enjoyed Dr Somerville’s explanation of how our attitudes and beliefs shape how we see the world and ourselves. I learned about the value of trying things and making mistakes. I learned that it is much better to take on a stress straight away and deal with it. Avoiding unpleasant things can make a mess further down the track. Better to deal with them up front, as difficult as that can be.

     I liked the way Dr Somerville talks about language and how our use of certain words really does colour our perception of what’s going on in our lives. I was amazed at how much our memory and imagination create our reality, but that we have the ability to change how we see the world.

     I liked Dr Somerville’s message of hope about the future. Things look very dire right now but no one can predict how the future is going to go. It is well worth living life in the most artful way we can as our contribution to the solutions the world needs.

     Sandra White

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     Dr Somerville uses the metaphor of surfing to perfectly highlight the up-and-down nature of life and mental health in his book, The Art of Riding Stress Waves: Self-help psychology for an anxious age (2025). 

     The art of riding stress waves involves facing fears and getting past ‘breakers’; enjoying the momentary, bobbing calm; being occasionally thrown around, but knowing how to use the current to right oneself; being prepared and practiced in your own skills and in reading the environmental context.

     Dr Somerville outlines stress and the mind before diving into our choices: avoid or engage with the stress. Avoidance is easier and (in the short term) perhaps safer, but Dr Somerville provides the tools and techniques a reader needs to think long term, address the underlying issue, manage emotions, acknowledge biases in our interpretations, tap into our intuition and craft a future that includes more calm bobbing and righting of oneself when the big waves of stress crash over us as individuals, as community members and as a planet. 

     Building on his previous book — Shallow Thought, Deep Mind: What you need to succeed, thrive and make the world better (2018) — and ample research into cognition, consciousness and the Mind, Dr Somerville helps the reader navigate the threats and challenges that come their way in life.

     Dr Somerville draws on his experiences as a father, husband, son, friend, activist and conservationist who has dealt with stress, trauma, grief and loss. He has nearly-40 years of professional experiences as a clinical psychologist and farmer living on the land, and has developed his own approach to building a more sustainable, regenerative, holistic approach to life in a fast-paced and wholly-unstable world. His experiences coalesce into solid, practical and individualised strategies that can be implemented with a bit of practice and preparation. 

     The choice is ours: avoid the stress waves, or learn how to ride them.  If you want to grab a board and dive into an ocean of possibilities, here’s your board.  Happy surfing!

     Dr Rebecca Hendershott

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     As a psychotherapist, teacher and lecturer I have long understood the power of words to help or harm, and this book provides very useful tools to discern which beliefs and stories we subscribe to are most helpful or harmful. I am constantly finding ways to utilise the provided information with my clients and students, as well as in my own life. Thank you for helping me find the hope I needed during some extraordinarily stressful times.

     Suzanne Evans