A Conversation with John Hendrickson
The Creative Writing Program presents a conversation with John Hendrickson, whose new book Life on Delay: Making Peace With a Stutter is a reported memoir chronicling his lifelong struggle to speak. In Life on Delay, Hendrickson explores the personal, professional, and societal challenges that stutterers like him face daily and revisits key people from his past in unguarded interviews. Along the way, he guides readers through the evolution of speech therapy, the controversial quest for a "magic pill" to end stuttering, and the burgeoning self-help movement within the stuttering community. He also presents portraits of fellow stutterers who have changed his life and a pioneering doctor who is upending the field of speech therapy. Hendrickson's intimate, candid memoir grew out of a feature he wrote for The Atlantic called "What Joe Biden Can't Bring Himself to Say," which was named one of the best stories of 2019 by Longform. His father, senior lecturer in English and Creative Writing Paul Hendrickson, will host.
JOHN HENDRICKSON is a senior editor at The Atlantic. He has spoken about stuttering, politics, and journalism on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, PBS, and at colleges and universities across the country. Before joining The Atlantic, he wrote and edited for Rolling Stone, Esquire, and The Denver Post. He lives in New York City with his wife.
This event is hosted by PAUL HENDRICKSON, senior lecturer in English and Creative Writing at the University of Pennsylvania.