Search
Log in
  • Home

  • Categories

  • Audiobooks

  • E-books

  • For kids

  • Top lists

  • Help

  • Download app

  • Use campaign code

  • Redeem gift card

  • Try free now
  • Log in
  • Language

    🇫🇮 Suomi

    • FI
    • EN

    🇧🇪 Belgique

    • FR
    • EN

    🇩🇰 Danmark

    • DK
    • EN

    🇩🇪 Deutschland

    • DE
    • EN

    🇪🇸 España

    • ES
    • EN

    🇫🇷 France

    • FR
    • EN

    🇳🇱 Nederland

    • NL
    • EN

    🇳🇴 Norge

    • NO
    • EN

    🇦🇹 Österreich

    • AT
    • EN

    🇨🇭 Schweiz

    • DE
    • EN

    🇸🇪 Sverige

    • SE
    • EN
  1. Books
  2. Family life
  3. Family and relationships

Read and listen for free for 14 days!

Cancel anytime

Try free now
3.8(4)

Raising Ryland : Our Story of Parenting a Transgender Child with No Strings Attached

This powerful, moving story—which has already touched more than seven million through a viral video created by the Whittington family—is a mother’s first-hand account of her emotional choice to embrace her transgender child.

When Hillary and Jeff Whittington posted a YouTube video chronicling their five-year-old son Ryland’s transition from girl to boy, they didn’t expect it to be greeted with such fervor. Beautiful and moving, the video documenting Hillary’s and Jeff’s love for their child instantly went viral and has been seen by more than seven million viewers since its posting in May 2014.

Now for the first time, they tell their story in full, offering an emotional and moving account of their journey alongside their exceptional child. After they discovered their daughter Ryland was deaf at age one and needed cochlear implants, the Whittingtons spent nearly four years successfully teaching Ryland to speak. But once Ryland gained the power of speech, it was time for them to listen as Ryland insisted, “I am a boy!” And listen they did. After learning that forty-one percent of people who identify as transgender attempt to take their own lives, Hillary and her husband Jeff made it their mission to support their child—no matter what.

From the earliest stages of deciphering Ryland through clothing choices to examining the difficult conversations that have marked every stage of Ryland’s transition, Hillary Whittington shares her experiences as a mother through it all, demonstrating both the resistance and support that their family has encountered as they try to erase the stigma surrounding the word “transgender.” In telling her family’s story, she hopes she can assist the world in accepting that even children as young as five, can have profound and impactful things to say and share. What emerges is a powerful story of unconditional love, accepting others for who they are, and doing what’s right, regardless of whether those around you understand it.


Author:

  • Hillary Whittington

Narrator:

  • Hillary Whittington

Format:

  • Audiobook

Duration:

  • 7 h 7 min

Language:

English

Categories:

  • Family life
  • Family and relationships
  • Family life
  • Parental advice
  • Society and Social Sciences
  • Psychology

Others have also read

Skip the list
  1. Amateur : A True Story About What Makes a Man

    Thomas Page McBee

    audiobookbook
  2. Never a Girl, Always a Boy : A Family Memoir of a Transgender Journey

    Jo Ivester

    audiobook
  3. The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist

    Ben Barres

    audiobook
  4. There's No Such Thing as Bad Weather: A Scandinavian Mom's Secrets for Raising Healthy, Resilient, and Confident Kids (from Friluftsliv to Hygge)

    Linda Åkeson McGurk

    book
  5. Dancing in the Mosque : An Afghan Mother’s Letter to her Son

    Homeira Qaderi

    audiobook
  6. Born on a Blue Day

    Daniel Tammet

    audiobook
  7. Taken

    Rosie Lewis

    audiobook
  8. Betrayed : The heartbreaking true story of a struggle to escape a cruel life defined by family honour

    Rosie Lewis

    audiobook
  9. Let Me Go : Abused and Afraid, She Has Nothing to Live for

    Casey Watson

    audiobook
  10. Tiger's Child: The Story of a Gifted, Troubled Child and the Teac

    Torey Hayden

    book
  11. How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk

    Adele Faber, Elaine Mazlish

    audiobook
  12. Torn : A terrified girl. A shocking secret. A terrible choice.

    Rosie Lewis

    audiobook

  • 1 book

    Hillary Whittington

    Mother of two Hillary Whittington has advocated for her children for years, serving as a classroom volunteer and public speaker. Through Raising Ryland, Hillary hopes to bring hope, strength, and humor to her experiences as the parent of a transgender child. In sharing her story, she encourages readers to have the courage to make the world a better place for all of us.

    Read more

Help and contact


About us

  • Our story
  • Career
  • Press
  • Accessibility
  • Partner with us
  • Investor relations
  • Instagram
  • Facebook

Explore

  • Categories
  • Audiobooks
  • E-books
  • Magazines
  • For kids
  • Top lists

Popular categories

  • Crime
  • Biographies and reportage
  • Fiction
  • Feel-good and romance
  • Personal development
  • Children's books
  • True stories
  • Sleep and relaxation

Nextory

Copyright © 2025 Nextory AB

Privacy Policy · Terms ·
Excellent4.3 out of 5