Ryan White: My Own Story

A challenging and emotional inspirational memoir of terminal illness, prejudice, and living with HIV/AIDS.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER
"Heartbreaking... A powerful tale."—New York Times Book Review

In 1984, when Ryan White received an AIDS diagnosis after receiving a contaminated blood treatment for his hemophilia, he was given six months to live. And although doctors said he posed no risk to other students, concerned parents and teachers who didn’t understand the disease protested his re-admittance to school.
 
This diagnosis rocked Ryan and his family, but his fight for acceptance and understanding in the face of discrimination have given Ryan a place in history as a voice of strength, courage, and compassion amidst the AIDS epidemic.
 
This memoir is a tribute to Ryan’s legacy, and an essential read for anyone seeking both a historical and a human perspective on the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Ryan White (1971–1990) was a courageous young man whose autobiography, Ryan White: My Own Story, recounts his HIV/AIDS diagnosis at age 13 and his fight against AIDS-related discrimination in his Indiana community. White and his mother, Jeanne White-Ginder, gained national attention and became the face of public education about HIV/AIDS when they rallied for his right to attend school. The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program is the biggest federal program dedicated explicitly to providing HIV treatment and care services to people with HIV/AIDS. 

Ann Marie Cunningham is the co-author of the bestseller, Ryan White: My Own Story, about the Indiana teen with AIDS who was barred from school, sued for the right to return, and won. Cunningham is a veteran science writer and producer. She is a regular correspondent for Women’s eNews and producer of the Long Island Sound Science Festival. She is based in New York.

Jeanne White-Ginder is the mother of Ryan White, a courageous young man whose autobiography, Ryan White: My Own Story, recounts his HIV/AIDS diagnosis at age 13 and his fight against AIDS-related discrimination in his Indiana community. She catapulted from obscurity to being a media regular when Ryan was not allowed to return to school in their Indiana town. After her son's death, she continued her son’s legacy of education and empathy by working on getting his book—written by him for other children—published. She wrote the afterword for the book and later had a bill passed that called for federal funding of AIDS education, research, and medical care in her son’s name.