Every time a person who stutters wants to speak, they have two choices: reveal their stutter or be silenced by its many life-impeding side effects.

Stuttering consumes every waking moment. It’s not a speech disorder. But stuttering doesn’t have to be either.

In 2012, 25-year-old Christopher Anderson laughed at the inevitable end of his marriage, cried when he couldn’t make a coherent phone call to get help for his ailing dog, and finally broke when he failed a once-in-a-lifetime interview to become an FBI agent. A debilitating stutter had sealed his destiny—until he decided to fight for his life.

Every Waking Moment is an intense, vulnerable, and insightful memoir showing how the struggle to communicate shapes the coming of age for those who stutter and what it means to accept your stutter.

For millions of people worldwide, stuttering, also known as stammering, is defined by an endless uncertainty of how to escape its trauma and stigma. Thus, Christopher faces his greatest fears as he undergoes an extraordinary transformation that leads him life fulfillment:

• To find his one true love in marriage
• To discover community in the National Stuttering Association
• To an innovative speech-language pathologist who implores him to face his stutter, not hide it
• To the frontlines of US national security in a dream job
• To train for and finish brutal Ironman triathlons
• To what was once thought impossible, fatherhood

Christopher examines his through-life process of change to illuminate how one transcends disability once and for all, inspiring each of us to pursue the improbable—self-acceptance and a fulfilling life.

Every Waking Moment is one of those rare stories that fearlessly proves how we are changed by what we do in connection with others, no matter how long it takes, nor the obstacles we must confront.