Episode 26 features Carol Buckingham, who hails from Manassas, Virginia. Carol was the leader of the Northern Virginia NSA Chapter for 15 years, and continues to enjoy being a member of this long time, successful chapter.

I met Carol at my first NSA Conference in 2006, but really got to know her two years ago in Parsippany, NJ . Carol missed the NSA Cleveland this year, her first time missing a conference in 19 years. Carol joined the NSA when it was first known as the NSP or National Stuttering Project.

Carol worked for many years with the federal EPA or Environmental Protection Agency. She shares how she never let her stuttering interfere with doing her job, which involved lots of telephone contact with consumers.

These days, Carol is actively involved with the Farmers Market in her area, helping out 4 or 5 days a week. It seems to really have turned into a second career for her. Check out the Farmers Market newsletter for more information.

Listen in as we discuss acceptance of self and by others. She talks about how she never thought she would find someone who would love her, and how finding that person gives her strength. She is happy with her life.

We also discuss standing up to negative listener reactions to stuttering and how Carol defines “normal”.

Feel free to leave comments. Feedback is so important. It lets me know you are listening.

Credit for the podcast safe music clip, “I’m Gonna Go”  goes to DanoSongs.

(Author note about this episode: this was one of the more difficult editing tasks I have had so far. Carol and I had a poor connection the day we chatted. Parts of this audio are not as smooth as I would have liked!)