Finding one's voice....

Based on the true story of King George VI, THE KING'S SPEECH follows the Royal Monarch's quest to find his voice.After the death of his father King George V and the scandalous abdication of King Edward VIII, Bertie, who has suffered from a debilitating speech impediment all his life, is suddenly crowned King George VI of England. With his country on the brink of war and in desperate need of a leader, his wife, Elizabeth, the future Queen Mother, arranges for her husband to see an eccentric speech therapist, Lionel Logue. After a rough start, the two delve into an unorthodox course of treatment and eventually form an unbreakable bond. With the support of Logue, his family, his government and Winston Churchill, the King will overcome his stammer and deliver a radio-address that inspires his people and unites them in battle.



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Dave and I went to see the movie: The King's Speech yesterday afternoon.  Luckily I bought our tickets on Fandango because it was sold out by the time that we got to the theater.  I guess that the word is getting out about this brilliant movie. I highly recommend it.

The acting is superb...the scenery magnificent....and, the story, inspiring.  I guess that you can tell that I liked it very much.

Sitting next to my dear friend of 30+ years who has dealt with a stuttering issue most of her life, I was especially touched by watching King George VI's struggles with his speech impediment and the role that it played in many of his life decisions.

I know that it had affected so many of my friend's life choices throughout the years....one being that she became a secretary instead of a teacher so that she didn't have to struggle speaking in front of the students...even though teaching would have been her preferred profession. 

After years of going to "specialists" or "clinics", it was quite an emotional and courageous feat for her (years later) to find herself teaching aerobics classes. She bravely stood in front of a large class of women and began calling out exercise movements without any pauses or hesitations...and, from that point on, she never looked back.

She did this for many years and gained a reputation of being one of the best instructors around. People who took her classes still comment to her about what a wonderfully inspiring teacher she had been. Pretty amazing.

One can hardly notice any speech difficulties when speaking with her now. In fact, I hadn't really thought about it for so many years....until this movie brought it all back to me. I know that she and her husband had tears in their eyes as they sat together watching the movie and remembering much of her own struggle.

She, like so many others who face challenges, had finally found her voice....and, I, for one, am so very proud to call her my friend.