Book Release: From Surviving to Thriving as a Minority Speech-Language Pathologist

Smarty Ears is proud to announce the release of “Sis, you got this. From Surviving to Thriving as a Minority Speech-Language Pathologist”. The paperback came out on January 29, and the official release is March 8, International Women’s Day, when the audiobook and the ebook will also be available.

This is the first book in Smarty Ears’ history! It was written by our CEO, Barbara Fernandes, a speech-language pathologist and immigrant who decided to open up, share her story and motivate other speech-language pathologists to keep going and find their place within this field. This is a story meant to be a beacon of hope and inspiration for the minority women in speech-language pathology who find themselves struggling with a sense of belonging in their field. It follows the autobiographical accounts of Barbara Fernandes, an adult immigrant to the US, as she embarks on her journey as a CSD student learning both English and Spanish. It tells of her struggles facing isolation, microaggressions, and her own internal battles to eventually become one of the most successful entrepreneurs within the SLP field. The journey from surviving to thriving is amplified by the inclusion of her many Black and Brown, Latinx, Asian, and immigrant colleagues as they open up to share their own relatable challenges to persist within their field. The book serves as a rallying cry for unity and tolerance amongst minority SLPs, and it offers hope for minoritized SLP women. Lastly, it goes one final step further, asking much-needed, deep, and thought-provoking questions intended to push the field forward.

The book became a #1 best seller on Amazon within two days of its release!

The book “From Surviving to Thriving as a Minority Speech-Language Pathologist” was written in 28 days and you can watch the whole story behind it on Barbara’s YouTube Channel: