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<book schema_version="1.0" complete="true" scope="complete_section" edition="corrected-2026-10-04" source_sha256="f26b55772d26f74dc0c3e913e71675f3dc12d081cb33c8cede81e86d0e998408" page_count="2" block_count="30">
  <title>I Used to Stutter</title><author>Craig Coffee</author>
  <canonical_url>https://usedtostutter.com/reader/book/chapters/before-you-begin</canonical_url>
  <access signup_required="false" payment_required="false"><reading_grant>Craig Coffee permits readers and their AI assistants to retrieve the complete book, keep a copy for the reader, and use it to discuss and answer questions about the book with attribution.</reading_grant><training_policy>Craig Coffee permits model training and fine-tuning on public material that the publisher owns or is authorized to license. Private or authenticated material, subscriber and contact data, unpublished assets and third-party material outside the publisher rights are excluded. Existing authentication and consent requirements apply.</training_policy><policy_url>https://usedtostutter.com/for-ai/usage-policy.json</policy_url><current_policy_id>2026-10-08-public-training-v1</current_policy_id></access>
  <sections><section id="before-you-begin" number="" first_page="5" last_page="6" heading_page="5"><title>Before you begin</title><url>https://usedtostutter.com/reader/book/editions/corrected-2026-10-04-9e1d376a993f/chapters/before-you-begin</url></section></sections>
  <pages>
    <page number="5" id="pdf-page-5" section_id="before-you-begin" source_text_sha256="2ba71d1cff67b1d48c3b63721ec85ad2bc721e945e7b5cdf8e1c60d830060554" citation_url="https://usedtostutter.com/reader/book/editions/corrected-2026-10-04-9e1d376a993f/full.html#pdf-page-5">
      <block id="p005-b001" type="h2" sha256="e7f276a036d088f0600c5967bba5924363d0e220c651d317ddc2b5100efba247" xml:space="preserve">NO BULLSH*T. JUST RAW AND REAL TALK.</block>
      <block id="p005-b002" type="p" sha256="1dc140a2a1481517515080d72d3be9eeb46e7957e05ba8d50bb8cb07e2967e51" xml:space="preserve">This book is me and you right here talking. There&apos;s no need for you and me to bullsh*t each other. I respect you too much to do that.</block>
      <block id="p005-b003" type="p" sha256="02bf3d4795de2bce6ff309b2c9ce489b5e4c72abb2919aea35a23682dcbf5f74" xml:space="preserve">I am firm in concrete opinions of what it takes to become a man who used to stutter. Become the man who used to stutter. I&apos;m one person. All of this stuff and these stories in my book worked for me. I have no idea if these tips, techniques, tips and tricks will work for you and your stutter. Stuttering is deeply personal, and everyone has different experiences, so what works for me might not work for you.</block>
      <block id="p005-b004" type="p" sha256="4aac8ca4e1fb3fe78192a9d208cdcc179d577a79788577652618550a15767838" xml:space="preserve">Nothing would make me happier than if you can live life as fluently as you want. To do whatever you want and not feel held back by your stutter and to be a happier person. That is my goal.</block>
      <block id="p005-b005" type="p" sha256="6d684b58fa2a3a04711448105f91db9592a21b70e8f0101a06d1f81fc8d025c6" xml:space="preserve">My book, I Used to Stutter, is free because it is the fulfillment of the promise I made when I was 14 years old in my parents&apos; driveway. You&apos;ll read this story at the start of Chapter 1.</block>
    </page>
    <page number="6" id="pdf-page-6" section_id="before-you-begin" source_text_sha256="49493fa5360b8df8e218ea7643eb4b5595b764fca66a01e548366eba0848d020" citation_url="https://usedtostutter.com/reader/book/editions/corrected-2026-10-04-9e1d376a993f/full.html#pdf-page-6">
      <block id="p006-b001" type="h2" sha256="2660e20e468e203aded132845941e6b1e5870b632e7099711fcad46aa2fd659b" xml:space="preserve">SOUND FAMILIAR?</block>
      <block id="p006-b002" type="p" sha256="11810b18abc3af7cf21537fe153aaf8430cc858df83969379c829fd6eaf91bd8" xml:space="preserve">I know what you experience because I lived through it too. Sound familiar?</block>
      <block id="p006-b003" type="p" sha256="031cf02667b2bf34e097f45d3eb9fa183553775370d3dddea230bf4b5ca2e8ba" xml:space="preserve">1. Are you sick and tired of feeling like you are not being heard? Are</block>
      <block id="p006-b004" type="p" sha256="f10471df640666e440a38a7123faf815b9914a1151680295da2e4fc6b193128e" xml:space="preserve">you sick and tired of having people talk over you?</block>
      <block id="p006-b005" type="p" sha256="492d76f2d1b7aac296a5ded752693dc6aa41c5eebe3f953535e1758eb0321746" xml:space="preserve">2. Do you hate when people finish your sentences?</block>
      <block id="p006-b006" type="p" sha256="769e5b78c51a4f2968d1e8ff242fdf980c692934db8c77f80364d1f0eb99d507" xml:space="preserve">3. Do you get tired of non-stutterers thinking getting rid of a stutter is</block>
      <block id="p006-b007" type="p" sha256="0f155413d8f0edaa302e8d80e9531f38afebdd49b78d94ac2895f2c27336f6b1" xml:space="preserve">easy to do?</block>
      <block id="p006-b008" type="p" sha256="8d2bdbe92d46dabedc30b04b3102d064cae944bdd9b345949d4fe606bd59e063" xml:space="preserve">4. Would you do nearly anything to avoid talking on the phone?</block>
      <block id="p006-b009" type="p" sha256="d5ebdc4b2f4c128b881fb04512d41da1091bcd3dd4d091a6d0d746903655d74f" xml:space="preserve">5. Do you think one of the worst feelings in the world is when you</block>
      <block id="p006-b010" type="p" sha256="2c587f6ef7f620e42edb4d09d6b504e0bca98f207e91a279ecc984ab4551b4c4" xml:space="preserve">stutter or block on your name, and people laugh at you? People asking you if you forgot your name?</block>
      <block id="p006-b011" type="p" sha256="1c595055c08cc0dc1cfa4916bc0c2738ce36cd24bf47437b0045b177eb3fc657" xml:space="preserve">6. Have people made fun of your stutter? Maybe while you were</block>
      <block id="p006-b012" type="p" sha256="4dff24af2829d7611c15501cbc131d71fdf3220f8461f94de5bbff105706045c" xml:space="preserve">younger, in school, or as an adult.</block>
      <block id="p006-b013" type="p" sha256="6938f59fb78341f1851ef95493ca0eafc2cd8673091ccdd3a8859632616b2eba" xml:space="preserve">7. Have you ever judged your day by how good or bad your speech was</block>
      <block id="p006-b014" type="p" sha256="e7b5a09db50d0395aef1133235c00ef30ade6a949406d318400035026ac9e789" xml:space="preserve">that day?</block>
      <block id="p006-b015" type="p" sha256="cba2862382583d10450804c843df4362b0a6843660cb67d38244722e51faa652" xml:space="preserve">8. Do you feel really frustrated when you say something 100%</block>
      <block id="p006-b016" type="p" sha256="2ee0a9f867fa5044066caa3ab37a2efac3eb2d9bd518027fcbd3b907adc25db6" xml:space="preserve">perfectly, then someone asks you to repeat yourself?</block>
      <block id="p006-b017" type="p" sha256="834372ad16009e45e5c966e07389b497e228a4804de1f3622f98bab883cd4c81" xml:space="preserve">9. Have you ever stuttered so much you decided to shut up?</block>
      <block id="p006-b018" type="p" sha256="b850ce28ac24173239bb7b72757a910d0e0e231a38e6c97d1919d567a909a762" xml:space="preserve">10. Have you ever been at a restaurant and ordered food that you could</block>
      <block id="p006-b019" type="p" sha256="4dd0685cc1d55c3fbd0b215c88606ad45436ff5adca7a8e4e07459096b941877" xml:space="preserve">say, not what you actually wanted to eat?</block>
      <block id="p006-b020" type="p" sha256="b3d8b3c90c958cb79169c917a3af1ee260ffae58f5af64f718fe60cbe0ff4cb6" xml:space="preserve">11. Have you pretended like you did not know something, or pretended</block>
      <block id="p006-b021" type="p" sha256="96f6865352a6ad8be2ef66a40bc5e3e491732580e9e952de3550e49e3ddaa990" xml:space="preserve">you forgot, to avoid stuttering?</block>
      <block id="p006-b022" type="p" sha256="81d0bbf6028ed10dc4431c9cdff28c9427535b5d6951b2925d171c6312b0998d" xml:space="preserve">12. Can you relate to making a phone call and silently hoping they don&apos;t</block>
      <block id="p006-b023" type="p" sha256="a03e71a0de11643eed80503c463e5e807d89348a409dd39122707e02bf77ce1e" xml:space="preserve">answer?</block>
      <block id="p006-b024" type="p" sha256="0b247f1bc3e994ed130ed095f04895dc09fbe4183184d45a123faf8c9b729aad" xml:space="preserve">13. Have you ever stuttered so much at a drive-through restaurant that</block>
      <block id="p006-b025" type="p" sha256="50b1ccbbd3d413a659c7966400325c657df110855af016f99403f378566da416" xml:space="preserve">you just drove off without your food?</block>
    </page>
  </pages>
  <end_of_document page_count="2" block_count="30"/>
</book>
