In Out With It, author Katherine Preston, describes her youth and adult life living as a stutterer. Stuttering is a disabling speech impediment, but Preston has done pretty well for herself. Growing up, she was part of the “in” crowd and in the present day, she has many friends and a loving partner. She has worked as a reporter for a major newspaper in the U.K. Then, after enjoying success in the financial industry, she changed course to work on this book.



In Out With It, we learn that Preston’s stuttering embarrasses and frustrates her, but it never tampers down her spirits or aspirations. She is strong- willed person and I’m a fan. Unfortunately, although her story may be inspiring for stutterers and their friends and families, for me, the narrative was not very compelling. There are too many irrelevant details, particularly about her childhood, and after a while, Preston’s reactions to her stuttering becomes predictable. Out With It sometimes seems like a vanity project type of book.



The majority of the book is about Preston, but interspersed are comments from famous and (not so famous) stutterers that the author interviewed during an extended tour across the U.S. Many of these comments are insightful and I think that the book might have been better served by featuring more details about their life struggles.



That being said, specific parts of the book are very good. For instance, when the author attends a speech training bootcamp which teaches a unique way of speaking in order to overcome the tendency to stutter. It is not, in any sense, a cure and I found the arguments presented for and against using the technique to be intriguing.



I also enjoyed the chapter on the science of stuttering. Preston interviewed one scientist, himself a stutterer, who has tested various medications on himself with mixed results. The concluding chapter has a thought-provoking passage about whether stuttering should be thought of as a disability (like blindness) or as a character flaw.