Robert O'Brien started stuttering at 8 and struggled with his speech into his adult years, discovering speech therapy, Toastmasters, and eventually acting school in Vancouver BC. At the same time, he was dealing with being gay and hiding his sexuality until finally coming out at 32. His focus throughout was to "fix" himself. After a failed suicide attempt, he was inspired to write a memoir called Just One More Drive: The true story of a stuttering homosexual and his race car to help others deal with issues around mental health and acceptance. His book is on sale globally and he has given various workshops sharing his experiences. He currently resides in Vancouver, BC working as a teacher and co-instructor for "The Unblockables", an improv acting course for people who stutter with Tightrope Theatre. Other written works include The MINI: A Strategic Relaunch of a Dormant Brand (Lambert Academic Publishing, 2016). Episode Highlights 0:00- 07:28 Intro 07:28 -10:40 "Fear, Exhaustion, Lost." 10:40 - 18:09 Writing O'Briens' memoir 18:09 - 21:34 Feedback on the memoir 21:34 - 27:44 O'Brien's coming out journey 27:44 - 29:01 Dealing with stuttering today 29:01- 37:27 Dealing with Mental health (men) 37:27 - 40:04 Mental Health self-care routine 40:04 - 47:54 'The unblockables' Improv course for people who stutter. 47:54- 49:36 TS Toolbox (resources on stuttering) 49:36- 51:06 Robert's message for the world 51:06 -52:10 Outro Best Quote "Get out of the mindset that because I have a stutter, there are certain things that I cannot do well. It's a way of thinking in the moment, it's a way of keeping it real." - Robert O'Brien RESOURCES Website: https://justonemoredrive.com Book: "One More Drive" by Robert O' Brien https://www.amazon.com/Just-Drive-Robert-James-OBrien/dp/1775165949 Book Reviews: Brett Grubisic (The British Columbia Review) https://thebcreview.ca/2021/11/16/1287-grubisic-obrien-memoir/?fbclid=IwAR2F8AV1RacxkW46ei-2zlH3iBDyOsVinKe9jxHhI-bW5tTAyQpnkmu7E8I Paul Blezard ( Lovereading.co.uk) https://www.lovereading.co.uk/book/9781990160028/isbn/Just-One-More-Drive-by-Robert-James-O-Brien.html?fbclid=IwAR268Fn0l8FR5FsWMFTo-la_XDr2BSdbMwNQADnPqxO0y77QnE0B7JPNJxA Tightrope Theatre - The Unblockables (Improv for people who stutter) https://tightropetheatre.com/improv-for-stuttering Uri Schneider, M.A. CCC -SLP is co-founder and leader at Schneider Speech; creator and host of Transcending Stuttering; and faculty at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine. Episode Notes: See more on our blog http://www.schneiderspeech.com/ourblog and http://www.transcendingx.com/podcast

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related