Stuttering: From Shame and Anxiety to Confident Authenticity

Are you ready to speak up for speech divergence? Stuttering has long been subject to public stigma: that it is abnormal, a defect, and has no place in public space. Classic therapies that aim to eliminate stuttering tend only to reinforce that stigma, thus creating a pattern of struggle in which we—people who stutter—actively avoid speaking and hide our stuttering. But stuttering is none of those things, and people who stutter are not defective—we are different. Only by changing how we think about stuttering and challenging our preconceptions about it and ourselves can we enable everyone affected by stuttering to move away from shame and anxiety, take pride in who we are, and live the authentic lives we choose. In this book, Hanan Hurwitz, a stuttering researcher and a person who stutters himself, shares the practices and philosophies that helped him overcome his shame and anxiety, let go of the physical and emotional struggle with stuttering, and develop the confidence to finally speak up and live a fulfilling, shame-free life. Drawing on years of studies and practicing a non-judgmental mindfulness approach, he takes readers on an empowering journey of self-acceptance supported by scientific evidence and philosophical principles. An essential book for people who stutter and their families, this book is an invitation to lift the veil from the stigma and live an honest life that thrives with stuttering and not despite it.