Wow, man!! Congrats! I see some similarities between us - reading aloud books though I also read words from a dictionary. You also accept that stuttering may be a part of life forever, and that is okay! These may be important factors for anyone looking to improve. However, I didn't really change the pace I was speaking. I continued to talk in my usual moderately fast pace. Did you have someone to talk to about your stutter? Seeing how you didn't visit speech therapy, who was the person you could confide in? Keep on doing what you are doing!