This intimate and unflinching memoir explores Wen's struggle to survive, and confronts the belief that people don't change. Through appalling abuse and neglect, Wen finds a way to a very different kind of life, embodying resilience, healing and transformation.

The story is woven through with the intriguing themes of Wen's life. With humility, understanding and beauty, she delves into the plight of a stammerer, the unbreakable bonds of twinship, and her body's need to dissociate.

Wen's evocative imagery transports the reader from the red dirt of Broome, to the streets of India and the mists of Scotland. She crosses the continents, often by bicycle, committing to radical political action and spiritual exploration. These pursuits help forge her growing character.

After settling in Scotland, she uncovers buried memories of a terrifying Queensland childhood shrouded in threats and lies, and of her father's links to a Brisbane paedophile gang.

'To the outside world, we were the picture-perfect family. No one would have believed me, even if I could have found the words.'

She doesn't recoil from facing the truth of her childhood or the unconscionable harm her parents perpetuated.

Wen tells how she found her way to her heart and her true gender self. In doing so, she celebrates the power of kindness. Stammering Against Truth is a powerful and empowering book that proves past traumas need not define our futures.

David Tredinnick

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