Tangled Tongues: Living with a Stutter

Nicholas Pashley was a bookseller and a freelance writer and editor in Toronto.

Jock A. Carlisle, an English-born forestry consultant and writer living in Deep River, Ontario, has written a serious study on the problem of stuttering from the point of view of the stutterer. Neither a speech therapist nor a psychiatrist, Carlisle has suffered from a stutter for 55 years, during which time he has undergone most known forms of therapy for his disability. Tangled Tongue is the result of a promise Carlisle made years ago that if he mastered the problem, even temporarily, he would write a book about stuttering.

Carlisle is clearly an authority on this enigmatic ailment, and his knowledge is well conveyed in his book. He is also cheerful, optimistic, and utterly devoid of self-pity, as far as we can judge. He examines possible causes of stuttering and studies the techniques that are employed to treat sufferers, as well as the problems of apparently cured stutterers who suffer relapses.

He devotes a good deal of his study to the problem of stutterers in society. The impediment is not confined to any race, culture, or economic class, although males are approximately four times more likely to suffer from it than females. Famous stutterers include Moses, Virgil, Aristotle, Thomas Jefferson, Winston Churchill, Isaac Newton, Marilyn Monroe, and Lorne Greene. Country singer Mel Tillis can sing without apparent difficulty but has trouble speaking, a not uncommon phenomenon among stutterers.

To the stutterer, almost as great a problem as his handicap itself is that of dealing with the ignorance of the non-stutterer. Seeing ourselves through the stutterer’s eyes is an edifying and not altogether flattering experience. Carlisle catalogues some of the common reactions he and other stutterers have had from members of the general public, and graciously explains how we can help, rather than hinder, the stutterers we meet. At the same time he answers many of the questions he has been asked by non-sufferers. His book leans heavily on anecdotes, often personal and humorous, but he also quotes effectively from authorities in the field.

Jangled Tongue is a positive, practical book for the sufferer and non-sufferer alike. Carlisle is a warm, accessible writer who will almost certainly help thousands of fellow stutterers with his learning and, above all, his own experience.