Ryan Speedo Green had a tough upbring­ing amid the urban waste­lands of south­east­ern Vir­ginia. At the age of twelve, Ryan was placed in soli­tary con­fine­ment in Vir­gini­a’s juve­nile deten­tion cen­ter as a last resort after threat­en­ing to kill his moth­er.

Thir­teen years lat­er, Ryan won a nation­wide com­pe­ti­tion host­ed by New York’s Met­ro­pol­i­tan Opera, beat­ing out 1,200 oth­er tal­ent­ed singers. Today, he is a ris­ing star per­form­ing major roles at the Met and some of Europe’s most pres­ti­gious opera hous­es.

Sing for Your Life chron­i­cles Ryan’s unlike­ly, sus­pense­ful, and pow­er­ful­ly emo­tion­al jour­ney from soli­tary con­fine­ment to star­dom. Daniel Bergn­er takes read­ers on Ryan’s path toward redemp­tion, intro­duc­ing us to an impor­tant and col­or­ful cast of char­ac­ters — includ­ing the two teach­ers from his child­hood who redi­rect his rage into music and Ryan’s long-lost father — and shed­ding light on the endur­ing real­i­ties of race in America.