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A review by baybay11098
Out with It: How Stuttering Helped Me Find My Voice by Katherine Preston
3.0
Every stutterer has two things in common:
1. Their name is one of the hardest things for them to say.
2. They have, at least once, been asked if they forgot their name.
I wish I could tell everyone I know to read this. It does a good job explaining all the feelings and scenarios that a person who stutters has gone through. Every time I have to order food, I look through the entire menu to find something that won't be difficult for me to say. I substitute words all the time, which sometimes results in very obtuse descriptions and makes people think and sometimes even say, "Why did you say it like that?"
I consider myself lucky because of how good I am at word substitution because I've been able to hide my stutter from coworkers and most of my friends to the point where they don't know about it until I tell them. But I also consider myself unlucky because it makes it too easy a lot of the time, and avoidance just results in no progress or even backwards progress. Today, I am unable to say things fluently that I would've been able to say a few years ago.
Maybe I'll try what Preston does here. She stuttered on purpose in private and in public. It helped her to normalize it. I think it's important, too, how this book explains stuttering for those who don't stutter. It explains how stuttering isn't always a repetition of a sound, but can mean struggling to get any sound at all ("blocking") or stretch a sound out ("prolongation"). It can result in weird movements with your arms and legs or awkward facial movements.
I enjoyed Katherine's story about her acceptance of her speech. I'm one of those stutterers who leans towards avoidance, and I know that to make myself less anxious about speaking, I need to accept myself. Katherine tells us how she put herself through tough obstacles and how she came away in the end without anxiety or nervousness. Now she stutters in public ordering food, talking to strangers, and even giving public speeches without caring if others will think badly of her. I'll keep her story in mind for when I need the extra strength.
1. Their name is one of the hardest things for them to say.
2. They have, at least once, been asked if they forgot their name.
I wish I could tell everyone I know to read this. It does a good job explaining all the feelings and scenarios that a person who stutters has gone through. Every time I have to order food, I look through the entire menu to find something that won't be difficult for me to say. I substitute words all the time, which sometimes results in very obtuse descriptions and makes people think and sometimes even say, "Why did you say it like that?"
I consider myself lucky because of how good I am at word substitution because I've been able to hide my stutter from coworkers and most of my friends to the point where they don't know about it until I tell them. But I also consider myself unlucky because it makes it too easy a lot of the time, and avoidance just results in no progress or even backwards progress. Today, I am unable to say things fluently that I would've been able to say a few years ago.
Maybe I'll try what Preston does here. She stuttered on purpose in private and in public. It helped her to normalize it. I think it's important, too, how this book explains stuttering for those who don't stutter. It explains how stuttering isn't always a repetition of a sound, but can mean struggling to get any sound at all ("blocking") or stretch a sound out ("prolongation"). It can result in weird movements with your arms and legs or awkward facial movements.
I enjoyed Katherine's story about her acceptance of her speech. I'm one of those stutterers who leans towards avoidance, and I know that to make myself less anxious about speaking, I need to accept myself. Katherine tells us how she put herself through tough obstacles and how she came away in the end without anxiety or nervousness. Now she stutters in public ordering food, talking to strangers, and even giving public speeches without caring if others will think badly of her. I'll keep her story in mind for when I need the extra strength.