Posts Tagged ‘stuttering socializing’
Episode 25 features Katherine Preston, who lives in Chicago, IL via London, England. I had heard about Katherine about two years ago through some of the stuttering email groups. She was writing a book about stuttering and was looking for people to interview.
I met Katherine at the Friends Convention this past July in Chicago. We got to chatting at one of the workshops. She mentioned she was writing a book and I mentioned that I had recently started this podcast for women who stutter to share their stories. We knew there and then that we would eventually have this conversation!
Katherine has a great story. She was trained as a writer/journalist, but found her way into working in Finance in London. She wanted to write a book, so that she could find the bigger meaning of stuttering. She knew it was much bigger than her own experience.
Katherine tells of interviewing two people who stutter in the UK, and then determining that if she was going to do this book right, she would need a much broader scope. She shares her decision to leave London and come to the US, where she traveled around the country eventually interviewing more than 100 people who stutter.
Part of her story includes the journey itself, which included camping out and staying at stranger’s houses. I learned about a unique form of travel adventure known as couch surfing, which I want to try!
Listen in as we talk about random moments, acceptance, voluntary stuttering, dating/socializing and of course the next steps towards the completion of Katherine’s book. I try in vain to determine what the name of the book will be!
Credit for the podcast safe music clip “Echoed” goes to ccMixter
Feel free to leave feedback or questions for either Katherine or Pam here.
We Love To Talk
Posted on: June 27, 2010
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Patrice, Pam, Bob, Steve and Joe
Getting together with other people who stutter never has to be formal with a set agenda. My friend Steve and I decided to launch a monthly social gathering for people who stutter in our area to just get together over food, drinks and good conversation.
We might talk about stuttering or we might not. What’s important is that we are getting together and feel comfortable to talk and laugh about anything.
We are calling our social gathering “Chat & Chew Too”. We have adopted the name from good friend Russ Hicks, who hosts similar social gatherings in Dallas.
So far we have met twice, and have our time and place scheduled for next month. We plan to alternate the times, days and places in an effort to keep it flexible and reach as many people as possible who want to connect in a very informal setting.
We had a great time talking a little bit about this and a little bit about that. It was nice to meet someone new and catch up with old friends as well. I would recommend fun, regular, social gatherings for anyone but particularly for people who stutter. We love to talk!
Make Room For The Stuttering 
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