All The Right Words: My Journey as a Sportswriter Who Stutters

Book Review by Edward Shvets

Ryan Cowley’s All The Right Words: My Journey as a Sportswriter Who Stutters showcases the message the Stuttering Foundation wants to diffuse to all people who stutter—your stuttering does not have to stand in the way of your dreams. Cowley describes the times when the hardships that accompanied his stuttering led him to “doubt” and “limit” himself “as a successful person.” However, after deciding things “needed to change,” working hard, and reaching out for help along the way, he became a successful sportswriter. It was the very “sadness” and “frustration” that overtook moments in Cowley’s life that made it possible for him to enjoy “perseverance” and “vindication” later on.

To be sure, Cowley endured tribulations beyond his control because of his stuttering, but it was the damage done to his mindset that was most severe in its implications. Cowley laments that he was “bullied, mocked, doubted, and even dismissed because” of his stuttering. He recounts how laughs and smears emanated from the school yard and college classroom alike. Although “tempting at times,” Cowley “never resorted to violence” (27). His anger was regulated to the backstage. What Cowley termed was his “never-ending internal battle,” saw him ceaselessly convince himself, “I can’t talk to those kids,” “I can’t’ apply for that job,” etc (74). Cowley experienced other trials—such as also living with Cerebral palsy—and yet stuttering is the focus of his book. Like many, albeit in often very different ways, Cowley went through the throes of life, and it was only when he started to treat stuttering as just one part of his journey instead of a defining power that he was able to realize his full potential.

Cowley demonstrates that you can show the world your talent when you do not allow stuttering to undermine the self-esteem needed to do so and that you do not have to “fight this battle alone” (162). As a teenager, he got his “first taste of fame,” even if he admits it was “very local fame,” when his English teacher (Mr. Bean) and classmates enthralled themselves in conversation about a 30-part series he wrote. People appreciated him and, more so, stood by him. When one student (Dave) mocked Cowley by “repeating ‘uh-uh-uh’,” the French teacher Madame Giroux and the entire class reprimanded Dave for his insensitive behavior. There will always be bullies, however, as Cowley states, “there are plenty more people who know how to be respectful, even if they have to wait a bit longer to hear what I have to say” (118). It was support from others—his dad, his wife Shannon, his supervisor Yvonne—coupled to reconnecting with his internal strength that allowed him to, as a synopsis of the Churchill quote Cowley references and the message behind it, ‘go through hell’ and defeat depression during his young adult years (162). In other words, stuttering does not make the person.

Stuttering can either be endured as the worst curse or utilized as a springboard for a better life. After all, it was stuttering that encouraged Cowley to write in the first place. Writing was an escape from stuttering, but many great things start as an escape. What seems like a disadvantage and setback at first may engender the very impetus and determination without which change is impossible. Cowley details in the chapter “No Longer a Curse” how in the end he grew personally and professionally from his past trials. His story exhibits strength through adversity and that the person is the deciding factor in their relation with stuttering, not the other way around. The Stuttering Foundation hopes that this book inspires those who stutter to not allow stuttering to encumber their life, to utilize support wherever available—including all the Stuttering Foundation resources—and to discover how stuttering can be turned to their growth.

From the Spring 2022 Magazine

CELEBRITY FOCUS

Mel Tillis

Mel Tillis, born Lonnie Melvin Tillis, was an influential figure in country music, both as a songwriter and a performer. His journey to fame was marked by overcoming personal challenges, including a stutter that he turned into a defining part of his public persona.

Bill Walton

From BillWalton.com

Thank you for your interest in my life long problem with my speech and communication skills. I was a very shy and reserved young man who could not speak at all without severely stuttering until I was 28 years old. Always a success in the classroom and on the basketball court, I took refuge in the things that I did well as a youngster. A straight A student, my athletic abilities covered the deficiencies that limited my overall growth and development. The game of basketball was my religion, the gym my church. It was a convenient way of avoiding my responsibilities of developing my human relation skills.

When I was 28, a chance encounter at a social event with Hall of Fame broadcaster Marty Glickman completely changed my life in so many ways that things have never been the same since, nor have they ever been better. That day, in a very brief, private conversation (one way, mind you, since I literally could not speak at the time) Marty explained, patiently and concisely, that talking, communicating was a skill not a gift or a birthright and that like any skill, whether it be sports, music, business or whatever, needed to be developed over a lifetime of hard work, discipline, organization and practice. Marty gave me some simple tips that day and then encouraged me to take those keys and apply them to methods of learning that I had received from the special teachers that I had come across in my life, particularly the 6 Hall of Fame basketball coaches that I had played for throughout my career. The beginning of my whole new life was as simple as that. No gimmicks, tricks or shortcuts. Just the realization that with some help, guidance and a lot of hard work that I too could do what seemed so easy, simple and natural to everyone else, yet seemed impossibly out of my reach and comprehension.

Bob Love

Bob Love has dreamt about being a great public speaker since his early days in Bastrop Louisiana, even though, as a young man, he could barely put two words together, let alone speak a full sentence.

In spite of his severe stuttering disability, Bob Love, the son of a sharecropper, rose to become a Chicago Bulls NBA superstar, whose records were eventually surpassed by Michael Jordan. Throughout his entire athletic career, Bob Love kept his stuttering a secret from the fans who adored him, thinking he could do his “talking” on the basketball court.

Frank Wolf

This Virginian congressman has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1981. The longtime supporter of the Stuttering Foundation drew national attention to childhood stuttering in 2006 when he submitted an article about Tiger Woods from the SFA newsletter to the Congressional Record. The congressman is featured in the Stuttering Foundation's Famous People Who Stutter brochure.

Winston Churchill

Seeking to "remove Winston Churchill's stutter by second guessing the diagnosis" indicates neither a truthful retelling of history nor an informed opinion about a complex speech disorder, say experts in the field of speech-language pathology.

Recent news reports that quote Dr. John Mather, a Washington physician, as saying that Churchill's stutter "is a lie" brought adamant critical response from specialists in the field of stuttering and fluency disorders.