Hello, all! Recently, I read “Life on Delay” by John Hendrickson. This is a memoir focusing on Hendrickson’s experience with his stutter. It was funny and sad and hopeful, but most of all, it was extremely relatable. Today, I’m going to talk about “Life on Delay” and why I recommend everyone read it, regardless of speech ability.
About the Book
John Hendrickson is a journalist who is probably best known for his work at the Atlantic, especially his 2019 piece “What Joe Biden Can’t Bring Himself to Say.” I remember when that piece first went viral. In speech therapy, I learned about famous people who stuttered, and Joe Biden was always on those lists. Hendrickson’s feature was a welcome detour from the negative things I would read about Biden’s speech. I don’t care what your political beliefs are; you don’t make fun of someone for their stutter. This piece not only brought stuttering to the masses. It also brought John Hendrickson on my radar.
Hendrickson’s memoir, “Life on Delay,” was released in early 2023, and I bought it only a few days after it came out. The book follows his life up to present day, exploring his stutter and the impacts it had on his life along the way. It is the culmination of memories, reporting, and interviews with family, friends, and other stutterers. Hendrickson talks about everything from substance abuse and mental health to getting a job and falling in love.
What I Loved
“Life on Delay” is painfully relatable at times, and that is precisely why I loved it. As a person who stutters, it is so difficult to find others who understand you. Sure, you can join an NSA chapter or some other stuttering group, but in your day to day life, you usually will not be surrounded by those who just get it. John Hendrickson gets it. I am someone who loves to keep books pristine, but I underlined and annotated so many sections of this book. The descriptions of the physical sensations of stuttering and the anxiety that comes from the “simple” task of making a phone call were spot-on.
I really enjoyed the style in which Hendrickson wrote “Life on Delay.” It is narrative nonfiction at its finest. Facts and statistics blend seamlessly into the storytelling, and it leads to a highly engaging piece of writing. I felt like I was there for some of the stories throughout, and that’s not just because of the shared stuttering experience. If an author can make me have a goofy smile one second and tears streaming down my face the next, they’ve done a good job.
Why You Should Read It
I have offered this book to both my mom and boyfriend. While I think those that stutter can relate and get a lot out of this book, it might even be more beneficial for those who don’t. It can be so difficult sometimes to explain the complexities of a stutter, and “Life on Delay” beautifully describes these experiences in an easy-to-understand way. Throughout the book, Hendrickson discusses how his stutter impacted his family, friendships, and romantic relationships. If you know someone with a stutter, chances are this book may give you a better understanding of what they go through. Of course, everyone is different, but reading about this experience might be the closest some people get to living it.
For those who do stutter, I think this book will bring you comfort. John Hendrickson has not coasted through life, but I think seeing that he’s been able to become so successful through it all is motivating. There are also so many stories in this book of the other stutterers he has met. Their experiences made me feel a little less alone. Yes, we all experience this a bit differently, but there are still those common feelings of stress and loneliness. Reading “Life on Delay” felt like emotional catharsis at some points, like, “Yes! This is exactly what I’ve been feeling but have never been able to put into words!” And that’s an amazing feeling to have.
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I highly encourage you to check out John Hendrickson’s work. While I of course recommend his writing on stuttering, he also has written a variety of pieces as a journalist. If you have any other book recommendations about stuttering, feel free to leave a comment below. Feeling seen and understood is such a wonderfully human desire, and I want all of us to find that.
Wishing you the best,
Bridget
Life, School, Speech 