Finding joy: Local book events highlight lives of U.S. trans teens

Published 2:46 pm Monday, March 16, 2026

As part of award-winning journalist and author Nico Lang’s 17-month long tour promoting their book “American Teenager: How Trans Kids are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Time,” Lang made stops in Renton and Kent for the Washington leg.

Originally published in October 2024, Lang’s book details the stories of eight trans and nonbinary teenagers throughout the country: Wyatt of South Dakota, Rhydian of Alabama, Mykah of West Virginia, Ruby of Texas, Clint of Illinois, siblings Augie and Jack of Florida, and Kylie of California.

“My goal was to simply show trans kids as they are,” said Lang. “I feel like, right now, there’s so much talking about trans kids but very little talking to trans kids or simply uplifting their voices.”

During the March 7 reading event at the Renton Chamber of Commerce, Lang read a passage from Kylie’s chapter, highlighting how different her experiences are as a trans teen living in a blue state.

“One of the things that I loved about portraying [Kylie’s family’s] lives in this book and being just allowed to spend time with them for these two-and-a-half weeks, is that so many of the kids that I work with feel like they’ve got to be perfect,” said Lang. “If you look at Wyatt in the very first chapter, he’s this young trans activist in South Dakota where there just isn’t a lot of visibility, right? So he feels like if he ever says anything wrong or does anything wrong, he’s gonna screw it up for himself […] because he lives in a state where these rights aren’t guaranteed. Kylie doesn’t have to think about that right. She lives in a state that’s declared itself to be a sanctuary state.”

During the event, which was in partnership with Renton LGBTQIA+ Community, Lang not only talked about the book’s subjects, but also about the hurdles it took to get the book published.

”Nothing about this book was easy, like even just getting a publisher to green-light it was incredibly difficult,” said Lang. “We were told over and over again that the book wouldn’t sell and there was no market for it.”

Lang said that one publisher asserted that the book wasn’t “realistic” because none of the kids had been rejected by their families.

“I was once voted most confrontational in college, and I take a lot of pride in that, and I also watch a lot of ‘Real Housewives,’ so it’s a really good thing I was not in that meeting because tables would have been flipped,” said Lang, who is nonbinary. “I just feel like I’ve got to center our joy and storytelling to show people that we want more than the kinds of tropes that we’ve been fed over and over again, because it’s not that.”

Part of sharing these teenagers’ stories was sharing the stories of their families. Lang said that they felt a connection to Clint’s family, who are Muslim, and his mother, Maha.

“The mom and I, the first time we talked, I got her,” said Lang. “I’m from rural Ohio and my family is quite poor so listening to her talk about her life and her family, I felt like that was like telling my family’s story. Telling these nuanced stories, yeah, you can have conflict, but that doesn’t mean it has to do with your kids being trans.”

In an interview, Lang said that the book was written during the Biden presidency and that they were not expecting a second Trump term when the book was finally published. Along with telling personal stories of trans teens, the book highlights anti-trans legislation in the states where the teens live.

“That’s why I’m traveling as much of the country as I can so people will listen this time. Hopefully we can undo a lot of the harm [the current administration] has done and start building for that future,” Lang said, adding that many people in the trans community and their families are scared, with many going underground or leaving the country.

During the Renton event, Lang shared that, since the book has been published, half of the teens, many of whom are adults now, have either fled their states or the country all together — though some, like Rhydian of Alabama, have chosen to stay and fight for their rights.

“He is very intent on staying in Alabama because he wants to do civil rights work and be a civil rights attorney. He just wants to do that there because he recognizes the necessity,” said Lang.

As far as advice, Lang said that people need to get out there and be part of communities.

“Meet families and meet kids. Go to PFlag groups, get involved. Indivisible chapters are great,” said Lang. “I just hope right now that we get out of our little bubbles. There have been decades of active organizing on the right to oppose Roe v. Wade and now trans kids. They’re so focused so it’s not going to be enough to life up people’s voices. We need to build spaces to have these voices be heard.”

For more information on Nico Lang and “American Teenager: How Trans Kids are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Time,” follow @queernewsdaily on social media.