When I was in my teens and early twenties I’d often go into Manhattan, and sometimes I’d need directions, so I’d ask some stranger. Mostly I’d ask a person who was coming toward me, and I’d look them in the eye and plant myself right in their path. I’d start to speak, make some sound and suddenly feel unable to speak. Then I’d get very anxious and likely looked it. So now I was blocking someone, looking them in th eye and starting to look weird. Many people, especially women, looked and acted as if they feared I’d kill them. I would terrify both them and me. Once I called my lawyer’s office, and his secretary told me he’d be back soon. I told her I’d be there soon, but all the while struggling to get words out. My lawyer told me later that afternoon that his secretary didn’t know about stuttering and locked the doors in fear for her life. Sweet, kind, nonviolent me? It was embarrassing to think that she’d fear for her life about me. Luckily later in life two different therapists helped me in different ways. One way was to let out some air before I made the first sound, and also prolong the first sound. What also helped was to stutter on purpose, to go into stores or situations and purposely stutter gently and calmly or pretend to. That was a huge help.