Book review: Stammering Against Truth

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'Stammering Against Truth: Surviving the Unspeakable' is a new autobiography by Wen Gibson, all about her relationship with stammering and the child abuse she suffered. Here, Christine Simpson from the Women Who Stammer Support Group gives us her review.

Warning: the book contains an account of sexual abuse which might be distressing and triggering for some. Christine tells us more…

This book is a powerful and at times harrowing memoir. Wen Gibson has experienced huge challenges in her life, living with the trauma of childhood sexual abuse, initiated by her father who she says was part of a paedophile ring. Her mother also treated her badly, viciously putting her down and favouring her twin brother and younger sister. The book, however, is full of hope. Wen says herself:

"When the beginning of life is full of suffering, there is a way through. There is a method to healing, of cradling life in both hands and claiming it as our own."

This book tells the story of Wen's life growing up as a young girl with a stammer and her love of writing, which she felt gave her a way to express herself. As a teenager she was accepted to train as a nurse, despite the first hospital she applied to rejecting her because of her stammer. Becoming a nurse meant she could escape her family and go on a series of travels to India, Europe and Scotland often by bicycle. But before she escaped, her beloved twin brother was killed in a road accident. The description of her grief and the way her mother treats her at this time, saying she should have died and not her twin, is truly heart-wrenching. 

This book is a great addition to the written stammering experience... As many people as possible should read it, but do be aware of its content.

Wen's journey (yes, it's an overused phrase but in this case very apt) through life is inspirational and very moving. She shows how it is possible to survive terrible childhood abuse and bereavement, learning how to heal and help others to heal. 

She also has very interesting insights about the role stammering has played in her life. Her parents insisted she must never tell anyone about the abuse she suffered. Her father threatened her. Wen says:

"If I forgot and began to speak, my stammer gave me time to catch the word and change it to something more innocent. My father watched me. He listened in case I spoke. I felt the dangerous words coming that might make him shoot my brother and then come for me. I felt the sounds and caught them in the stammer. The word then got lost in the stuck syllables."

I have always felt we hear far less of the experiences of women who stammer. I have seen comments on social media claiming women have an easier time when they stammer. Wen's experiences disprove that. This book is a great addition to the written stammering experience. Her bravery in writing this book will hopefully encourage other survivors to tell their story and maybe some of the perpetrators may be brought to justice.

I highly recommend this book. As many people as possible should read it, but do be aware of its content. It contains scenes of emotional, physical and sexual abuse. Wen asks that we take care of ourselves as we read it, especially chapters 19 and 20. The more distressing scenes have not been included in the audiobook version. 

Wen herself has written an article for our Your Voice section, 'How my stammer saved my brother & me', all about the story behind the book and the poems it was based on.

'Stammering Against Truth: Surviving the Unspeakable' by Wen Gibson is out now on paperback and ebook, available on Amazon, and on audiobook, available on Spotify, Kobo and Google Play. 

We would like to thank Christine Simpson for reading and sensitively reviewing this book. If you have been affected by anything you've read here, you might like to join the Women Who Stammer Support Group, that Christine co-runs. There you can get support and talk about your experiences. Or you can call our free helpline on 0808 802 0002, or start a webchat.