Brings Her Joy – Episode 78
Posted on: January 10, 2012
Episode 78 features Fianna Peppers, 27 years old, who hails from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Fianna currently works in a Bank of America call center, something that she never thought she would be able to do because of her stuttering!
Fianna describes herself as a master of word substitution. She has been doing that for over 25 years. She blocks quite a bit as well.
We talk about the huge role that shame plays in the lives of people that stutter. Fianna shares that as a kid, she was made fun of a lot. She relates a recent incident where a co-worker made fun of and mimicked her stuttering.
Fianna and I met in the on-line Facebook stuttering group Stuttering Arena, which boasts over 900 members. She brainstorms frequently with group members and has talked with a few over the phone.
We also discuss acceptance, therapy experiences and feelings. At one point, Fianna gets emotionally choked up as she gets really honest about how much shame has gripped her. This is a jam-packed conversation that covers a lot of ground and a range of emotions.
We also discuss how tiring and draining it is to stutter – it is physically and emotionally exhausting to constantly switch words!
Kudos to Fianna for sharing and being so honest. Please feel free to leave comments or just let Fianna know how well she did. Remember, feedback is a gift!
Credit for the music used in today’s episode goes to ccMixter.
7 Responses to "Brings Her Joy – Episode 78"
January 11, 2012 at 9:07 AM
Thank you Pam for sharing this and Fianna for sharing your story to us. Fianna-you don’t sound like you stutter, but how you feel about it tells otherwise. Stuttering is a process in which we gradually overcome its boundaries in order to feel its effects personally-it just takes time
January 26, 2012 at 1:47 PM
Great job Fianna, you sound a lot better than I do. I used to be able to hide my stutter too, but now not so much.
Thanks for sharing.
February 5, 2012 at 10:52 PM
thanks for sharing u did great love your story toward the end had my eyes watering
Make Room For The Stuttering 
January 10, 2012 at 4:01 PM
I walked out of a call centre job after 2 days, as they asked me to man the phones. I was just supposed to be filing and log entering but they were short. I did explain that it would be very tricky for me, but they said it was part of my ‘job description’. I did try but substituted some of the words such as the company name ‘ Maintenance One Manufacturing’ , which I just couldn’t manage. They said I needed to say it as an intro , so as I was then very embarrassed and ashamed I left. So good on you Fianna for having the courage to stick at it, I so wish I had now ! 🙂
January 10, 2012 at 9:05 PM
thanks