My mind prepared an altar for the old me. I succumbed to the woman inside, relinquishing the longstanding belief that my femininity was some kind of disease. As I retraced my experience, I felt cheated out of freedom for so long. Who would I have been without those day-one boxes of gender, if I'd been less consumed by what others thought of me, if I could have been the driver of my own destiny? The old me had to die. I no longer accepted this perpetual division between who I wanted to be and who the world wanted me to be.

Raquel Willis, The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation

Parents of Trans Youth is hosting Raquel Willis for an online conversation next Tuesday about her memoir, The Risk It Takes to Bloom, and I’d love for you to join us, Reader!

🗓️Tuesday, June 30
⏰ 7:00 pm CDT /8:00pm EDT
💻 Live on Zoom

As “a proud Southern, Black, trans, queer woman,” Raquel’s dedication to fighting for trans equality and liberation is impressive. She’s a risk-taker and a truth-teller.

How to join the event:

Step 1 - ✍️ Click the button below to register for the event. Please be patient; an actual human is manually approving registrations!

Step 2 - 📚 Consider buying the book to support Raquel! Buying through 👉this Bookshop.org link👈 benefits independent bookstores and Parents of Trans Youth at no extra cost to you. Also available anywhere books are sold.
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​Step 3 - 🗣️ Show up live on June 30 through the Zoom link you’ll receive via email and be ready with your questions for Raquel! (Recording will be available for members of the Parents of Trans Youth Community only.)

Raquel Willis is an award-winning activist, writer, and media strategist dedicated to collective liberation. She is the co-founder and strategic director of the Gender Liberation Movement, host of the podcasts Afterlives and Queer Chronicles, and author of The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation. A former national organizer for the Transgender Law Center, Raquel made history as the first openly Black transgender woman in a senior editorial role at a major U.S. magazine (Out). A TIME Woman of the Year and TIME100 honoree, she continues to shape culture through storytelling, strategy, and advocacy for Black trans freedom.

This is a Parents of Trans Youth Community book club event — part of our regular rhythm of weekly live events in the community.

And for this specific event, we’re opening the doors for anyone who’d like to check it out. Not only are you invited to this special celebrity author talk, but you’ll also get to experience our community where affirming parents of trans kids and young adults gather for support, connection, and practical solutions.

Mandy Giles​
Founder and CEO
​Parents of Trans Youth​

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Parents of Trans Youth provides learning, support, and community to parents and caregivers of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive kids. DONATE NOW ​​

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