Stuttering & Anxiety Self-Cures: What 1000+ Stutterers Taught Me Paperback – 13 May 2017

I was as sceptical as many before buying this book, having gone through every kind of therapy under the sun to try rid myself of a life-long stutter, but I have to say it's a game-changer! It's not just a standard self-help book, but a collection of stories, in-depth exploration of the different types of stutter, techniques, and exercises to help you understand what's causing YOUR stutter, which really is the first key to unlocking it.The book is by no means a quick or easy read - you have put the time in and the "crutches" as the author, Lee, calls them, into 24/7 practise or else you won't succeed. On it's own the book is a good first step and eye opener into this new approach to talking, but to really benefit from the changes Lee also offers 121 video coaching (he lists his email address several times throughout the book, actively encouraging you to get in touch). He offers his time willingly to help all PWS and I really thank him for getting me on this path to fluency.To the reviewers who say the crutches don't work or just make you sound odd - is it really any odder than stuttering..?? The one thing that needs to be stressed more in the book (which Lee does continually say during coaching) is that the crutches are there to help you get rid of the habit of stuttering. In time, you won't even think about it or what crutch you are using - it'll just become your natural speech and sound entirely normal.Give it a go - what have you got to lose?*** I don't however recommend the Audible version of this book - buy the physical copy! The Audible version is outdated. This 3rd edition is much more comprehensive, and being a paperback allows you to make notes and mark pages to keep referring to later, which is essential for mastering the crutches and gaining true fluent speech. ***

My life has changed since I read this book.Anyone who stutters knows how powerless and clueless we feel in a stuttering situation. "Why am I stuttering now?? I can speak totally fine when I am alone, so why can't I say this word??" Desperation and anger are very common feelings too.I have been stuttering for almost 25 years, with ups and downs. Like most PWS, I am totally fine when I am alone or talking to animals. I stutter lightly in casual conversations and heavily under pressure. During work presentations, I freeze. The fight-or-flight reaction is so strong that when I am finished, I cannot even remember much of what happened during the meeting…Or at least, that was me, before I read Lee's book.1) The book is excellent in explaining that stuttering is an (unconscious) choice we make; and that it is equally our choice to stop stuttering, provided that we put enough work into it.2) The book is excellent in giving us a roadmap to stop stuttering for the long term, with most likely no relapse3) The book is excellent in giving us concrete and readily applicable tools to reduce our stuttering, straight awayWhat really made the difference for me though were the Skype calls that I had with Lee over the past 3-4 months. Lee is really amazing, offering help to (as far as I know) anyone ready to self-cure. He now works full time in helping PWS - that's 40 hours a week probono! Simply put, Lee is a very good human being, with so much kindness and generosity. He's also a fantastic coach: every time I speak to him (once a week), I feel energized and ready to work harder!Another important point I think is that Lee's methods have nothing to do with trying to control speech. It's not about the way you breathe, or move your mouth or jaw. It's about being in control of your thoughts and accepting that everything you do come from deliberate choices. Yes, you use techniques at first, but they are primarily here to make you understand that you can be fluent if you want to.The results for me have been very good, and that is because I have worked hard. My stutter has disappeared 95% in most conversations as long as I make a conscious choice not to stutter. In my last work presentation, I was perfectly fluent for 30 minutes – which never ever happened to me before (the longest fluency time I had in presentation was maybe 2 minutes). I can now read aloud anything to my husband, which I could not dobefore.If you want to self cure, you can.

Being in my early fifties and having tried a variety of approaches to stop moderately severe stuttering over many years, I had come to the conclusion that I would have to control my speech with a physical technique for the rest of my life. Then, out of the blue, Lee’s book was brought to my attention. At first, I was very skeptical about his methods – and confess that I was initially tempted to dismiss them! However, the more I read the book (which I have now read three times) and the more I watched his live coaching sessions on Twitch TV (Speech Whisperer – Game of Tongues), I began to realise that actually, Lee really does understand the problem inside out (having experienced it himself).In addition, he knows ways which work (learned from personal experience); to help and guide people to move out of the seemingly impossible “prison” of stuttering. And so, after my change of heart, I contacted Lee and am now doing the daily practice which he advocates in his book, as well as having Skype sessions. As I do so, I am gradually experiencing positive changes and I KNOW that with practice, perseverance and patience (and of course, time), I will start to think less and less about stuttering and more and more speak out my ideas spontaneously, without thinking much (if at all) about how I am speaking. In essence, expressing my thoughts like naturally fluent speakers do.I believe that with hard work, anyone who stutters can gain greater freedom in speaking, by using Lee’s methods. I encourage you to read this book and if you stutter and want to stop, to give his approach your best effort. Thank you Lee, for writing this book!