An edgy, thought-provoking, and informative insider’s view of a frequently misunderstood disability.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Deftly written, Stutterer Interrupted: The Comedian Who Almost Didn't Happen is a very special kind of memoir that blends humor with candor. The result is an inherently fascinating read from beginning to end.”
—Midwest Book Review
“‘How can some pauses and a few extra syllables take control of a person’s life?’ Nina G tackles this question with a style that is both deliciously profane and skin-wide-open self-revealing. Stutterer Interrupted speaks to the successful lives we can build if we embrace our idiosyncrasies and help others do the same, rather than seeing ourselves as broken and needing repair.”
—Barry Yeoman, freelance magazine and radio journalist
“Stutterer Interrupted made me guffaw, snort with laughter, and very verklempt. Nina G keeps it real and f*cking funny as she describes how she found and valued her voice and the people who helped along the way. For anyone who hungers for self-acceptance, community, and a sense of pride, this is the book for you.”
—Alice Wong, Founder and Director, Disability Visibility Project
“We live in a society that constantly tells us to fix our imperfections. Why, then, would someone who stutters choose to put their imperfection out on display rather than get it fixed? Nina G provides us with the answer to this question in her delightful book, which offers candid insight into her journey of struggle and self-acceptance. Her book is a refreshingly honest look at how a person with a stutter can choose to become comfortable with herself, reject society’s notions of what is acceptable of people with disabilities, and forge a successful path for herself. It is an inspirational, heartwarming tale.”
—Pooja Vijay, stand-up comedian and PhD candidate
“Vivid, frolicking stories that tumble over each other as we see the career of a stuttering comedian being built before our very eyes. Starting off much like a comedian would, at a fast-paced, punchy clip, the writing flows easily from anecdotal to introspective.”
—Holly Shaw, author of The Creative Formula and host of the podcast Performers & Creators Lab
“Nina G uses humor and rich storytelling to describe the moment when she wanted her space back. The shame and stigma of stuttering can lead to a belief that we deserve to be silent. Stutterer Interrupted busts that stigma wide open and tells us that it’s sometimes okay to be loud and proud.”
—Pamela Mertz, host of Women Who Stutter: Our Stories
“I know firsthand what it’s like—and what it takes—to become a professional (you know, the kind that gets paid) stand-up comedian. In Stutterer Interrupted, Nina G., not so delicately and very personally, walks us through her own struggles and immense triumphs. This is truly a story of someone repeatedly being told, ‘You can’t do this,’ and then responding, ‘Oh yeah? Listen to this!’ Mic drop.”
—Mike Guido, comedian, stage performer, and speaker
“Whip-smart, bighearted, and laugh-out-loud funny. Stutterer Interrupted is a must-read for anyone who cares about building a more equitable and inclusive world.”
—Jonathan Mooney, author of Normal Sucks and Learning Outside the Lines
“Nina G. offers a rich account of the experiences of stuttering in an authentic voice—part teacher, part advocate, part emotionally raw and profane. Although it may not be for everyone, those who read Stutterer Interrupted will come away with a better understanding of the challenges, opportunities, and joys that can accompany living with stuttering.”
—Hope Gerlach, Journal of Fluency Disorders, September 2019
“This book speaks very intuitively to the adolescent or adult who stutters, discovering their sense of self and their own voice. Not only does it contain sage and practical advice for finding a supportive and empowering community, it also embraces self-forgiveness for mistakes made along the way. Risk is a huge theme in this book—evident each time the author embarks on stage, a new professional or educational challenge, or a new relationship.”
—Selena Donaldson, Journal of Fluency Disorders, September 2019
2019-08-24
A debut memoir from a woman who found a unique remedy for the social anxiety caused by her lifelong stuttering.
G. isn't the first person in her family to suffer from a disability, she says: "My father was born with hearing loss, as was his father and his father's mother." G.'s hearing was fine, but her stuttering was compounded by dyslexia, both of which became serious problems for her in third grade.Fortunately, her supportive parents were active in ensuring that she had the best instructors that the California educational system could offer. She would go on to graduate from the University of California, Berkeley, and to receive a doctorate in psychology there. At heart, G. is a teacher—she's a community college professor—and she brings that skill to her memoir, detailing, in plain English, the scientific underpinnings of stuttering and how someone with speech difficulties may become, for example, a successful singer: "stuttering is thought to originate from somewhere in the left side of the brain, near the area that produces speech….on the right side of the brain, you have the areas that produce the functions of intonation or singing." G. also writes of her passion for comedy; starting in, she bravely pursued stand-up comedy, and she still relishes performing at open-mike nights in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her often funny, salty, and justifiably angry prose articulates the frustrations that she faced as a stutterer in the "fluent" world, including the irritation of being interrupted during a word block, the psychological impact of being discounted and mocked, and the self-imposition of silence in an effort to make listeners comfortable. Some of the jokes that she includes here may work better in a live setting than then they do on the page, but others are sure to have readers laughing out loud.
An edgy, thought-provoking, and informative insider's view of a frequently misunderstood disability.
