Episode 272 features Gina Waggott who hails from Yorkshire, England. She is a writer and owns her own internet advertising business. She is working on a book honoring long time friend and idol Scatman John, or John Larkin, his given name.

John stuttered and hugely influenced Gina when she was a teen and going through turbulent times with her own stuttering.

We discuss all things stuttering, especially covert stuttering. Gina shares that she worked in television, particularly the BBC, for 10 years. But she found it stressful and she wanted to see the world. We also discuss speech therapy, which was essentially “treat the stutter, hide the rest” which is so difficult for covert stutterers and was an experience that we both shared.

When Gina was a teen, she heard one of Scatman John’s songs about stuttering and was intrigued enough to reach out. She wrote him a letter, which she describes as a cry for help. She was stunned when he responded. He gave her one of the most important pieces of advice – find the stuttering self help community. She did and it changed her life. As did knowing John Larkin. Be sure to listen to the compelling details of her friendship with John.

The book she is writing will be a tribute/manual on how to be an awesome human being while stuttering. The actual title will be “Scatman John – The Remarkable Story of the World’s Most Unlikeliest Pop Star.”

This was such an impactful conversation, and one that we both wondered why the heck it took so long for us to have. I look forward to meeting Gina in person one day.