Saturday Review: “Words Worth Hearing” a review by Julia Nunnally Duncan in NCLR Online Spring 2024 of Mary Ricketson’s novel Stutters: A Book of Hope (2023)
In the second feature section review, Ricketson’s collection of poetry takes the reader on a journey: her journey through a life of stuttering. Duncan posits, “It is a book about people’s cruelty to someone who is different. And yet it is ultimately a celebration of endurance, growth, and the ability to look beyond oneself to help others.”
Over 300 million Americans live with some form of stuttering. Duncan relates the importance of communication to herself, clarifying that, “the poems in this volume explore much more than altered communication, including familial relationships, peer pressure, and professional aspirations.” That sense of altered speech is what Duncan finds most compelling though, as she writes that, “Perhaps my response is tied to my forty years as a college instructor of communication skills and as a public speaker myself. I am aware of how important clear, precise communication is, especially for a critical audience.”
Duncan pulls snippets from multiple poems in each of the book’s five sections, charting the path from birth to adulthood and Ricketson’s becoming a parent and passing on both the struggle and the hope to her son. At the end, Duncan writes, “Ricketson has accomplished her goal in Stutters. It is A Book of Hope, a stirring and enlightening hopeful book.”
Read the entire review in the Online Spring 2024 issue out now! And order the book from Bookshop.org.
