The Man in the Arena
It came to me like a bullet at full speed. I felt defeated - like my identity had been taken away. I sit across the table as my boss delivers the news. A parent of one of my clients has confirmed my worst fear. “I didn’t realize Courtney stutters. Shouldn’t she overcome her stuttering before treating others?” “I asked (name of daughter) how she felt about seeing a speech therapist who stutters. She said, ‘It makes me sad. I don’t want to grow up and still stutter.’” Navigating a life with stuttering is like going out into an arena every day where people are punching you left and right. When you're young, it’s hard to take those punches, so you may take a different route to avoid them, or just stay in your room with the doors closed so you never have to face them. But as an adult, it becomes harder and harder to avoid those punches. You get them when you’re least expecting them. W hen you’re walking down a road, so serene, so tranquil, then all of a sudden one ...