Why I Call This Book My Favourite,
I met Michael in Dublin. He approached me after a workshop, telling me he was working on a book about stuttering and about his recovery.
Yeah right. I’ve read many books about stuttering, about how to cure stuttering, about how speech works, even those few with personal stories. So what's new? And this guy didn't stutter at all, so this book would probably be about the “perfect cure” , looking for new clients. However, as he was such a nice guy, I gave him the benefit of the doubt and promised to write something and then forgot all about it.
This was my first mistake.
One year later I met Michael again, this time with his wife Monica. I felt ashamed about not writing back, so I tried to avoid them for days.
That was my second mistake.
Then I went to their workshop. Michael spoke about his life having this severe stutter, his battle to speak, physically and psychologically, his love for his wife, work and children, his strength to walk on and make his life a success despite his stutter, and his way to recovery by finding the therapy that was right for him. He told us to trust ourselves to follow our dreams and to believe that there is a way out once you found the direction that’s right for you, no matter what that direction is. What really hit me was that, for the first time, I heard a spouse speak about the impact of being a partner to someone who stutters, but also about the “redundancy” of being a partner to a recovered stutterer who got his speech back. That made my waterfalls burst. And as they said, it’s all in the book. So when Michael asked people to review a draft of the book and take one home, I was like a starving bird and would have fought for a copy if I had to. I walked off with the book under my arm and a poem on my mind. Unfortunately this was the last evening and there was no time to sit and talk to them.
Now that was my third mistake.
I came home and read the book and at 2.50am I switched off the light. This book IS about stuttering and IS about recovery, but it is mainly about life, love, work, family, country life birth and death. As it’s so eloquently and vividly written, you can smell the newly harvest grain, taste the fresh vegetables directly picked from the field, feel the painful punishment from the teacher, see the beautiful but fearful wedding ceremony and imagine the funny sight of Monica with her feet on the dashboard. It’s so private, so emotional, and so recognizable for many of us who stutter. The book ends with stories from people like you and me, who have “been there, done that” and advice to parents, children and teachers.
It’s all there and it’s for everyone; for those who stutter, those who live with people who stutter and for those who work with people who stutter. I found THE book I would like to see on the white screen.
Just one warning before you turn this page. Start early, as you wont be able to stop reading it. As for me I can’t wait to come to Dublin to make up for my triple mistakes. Michael and Monica, thanks for sharing your lives with us.
A.S.B (Belgium)
