Maxie Freud: Stories Of Mice And Psychotherapy

Let’s face it: day-to-day dramas have always fascinated us – especially today with our increasing awareness on people’s psychology and on the role of therapy. I love witnessing that quick, knowing smile of delight when I explain the premise of his stories to a new person. They seem to “get it” right away!

Maxie Freud and his cohort of intrepid mice provide a unique window into the world of therapy and human nature. Who better to bear witness to the ins and outs of our personal strivings than our audacious Maxie and his band of curious and spirited mice? Readers of a certain age could easily imagine the Maxie Freud stories as a modern extension of the wondrous Brian Jacques series Redwall.
The setting is mostly within the walls and cellar of a small, two story older office building that houses a group practice of therapists and psychiatrists. But these are not your basic “cute mouse stories.” Daily dangers face the plucky band of mice. But undeterred, they prowl the many passageways and peepholes seeking answers to the age-old mouse question “What the hell makes these humans tick?”

The mice enjoy unlimited access to the therapy sessions and the private lives of the therapists. In one case they are instrumental in the removal of a “therapist gone bad.”

A senior therapist, the practice owner, takes a daily mid afternoon break to view re-runs of old TV shows. Little does he know that several mice are his secret viewing companions. The mice have even incorporated TV catch phrases into their daily discourse – especially the old Westerns.

Their curiosity is endless: they have daily philosophical debates about ethics and personal choices. They begin to mimic aspects of the therapy staff. They even have their own “staff meetings” and try to mirror proper communication styles.
Life is never boring or easy for our mice. In spite of multiple crises and unexpected visits from other animals of seedy provenance, they constantly keep striving to understand their humans. At times and in small brave ways, their gutsy attempts at intervention often go awry.

Also, life here is not always fun and intrigue. There’s the constant danger of being captured by Clarence the sadistic, ever prowling, neighborhood alley cat from the next-door lawyer’s building. Also, several of the mice witness an office robbery leading to a scary episode involving an armed ex-husband and his showdown with a police detective. Could it be that our mice played a part in the ex-husband’s arrest?

You’re in for delight as Maxie tries to entice other male mice to form a “Men’s Group”. Come along for the adventure as well as the terror that results when Maxie and Catherine, the colony matriarch, go from observing a very emotional couple session, to inadvertently landing in this feuding couple’s home. Then, there is their wild smelly ride, hopefully back to the practice, with Maxie and Catherine stowed in the back seat of the cheating husband’s 1969 Corvette?

You’ll be so impressed as you watch the mouse colony’s hilarious attempts at shock therapy on a depressed comrade (with a 9V battery?) and self-medication experimentation (Ritalin) etc.

All through these stories you’ll have a heartfelt desire for these noble mice to prosper and co-exist peacefully along side their therapist community.