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Published by BenBella Books
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
Table of Contents
About The Book
“Hey, kid. Kid.” A voice in the darkness of the slum dorm. I awoke to my stale, bare mattress. It was midnight. The arm of a male nanny reached into the closet where my bed was, roughly jostling me. “You have to get up. They’re coming.”
A notorious movement cloaked in secrecy. A prosperous Black family that rose from the ashes of American slavery. A forgotten boy. And a daring escape.
Jamie Mustard was born into one of the most influential fringe movements in the 1970s: Scientology. Raised on a mythos of spaceships and made to believe that it was his life’s purpose to help save the world, he was determined to survive—not only unsurvivable neglect but also the impossible physical and psychological gauntlet of extreme poverty and illiteracy. Child X is a dark existential journey into a deepest hole of human existence and the road back.
The unbelievable story of a lost generation of children, Child X takes readers through Jamie’s childhood and adolescence in “the movement,” his daring escape, and his rise into self-possession. With wit and vulnerability, Jamie sheds light on one of the untold, but not uncommon, accounts of a powerful Black family that rose from the ashes of slavery to prominence and wealth, and how the counterculture of the 1960s and 70s caused that rise to crumble. This deeply personal true story gives a child’s-eye view of one of the most notorious American religious movements in history. Despite his family’s success, Jamie would be born a slave and then reborn an artist. Through extraordinary encounters with celebrity, icons and historical figures, it also powerfully places Black American history in the larger context of world events.
A universal story of resilience in the face of overwhelming odds, Child X celebrates yet transcends race—and is ultimately an uplifting impossible to believe story of rising out of adversity and building a life full of meaning and connection. With this book, Jamie continues working to restore his family’s legacy and provides a salient saga of the road to humanity and self-possession.
A notorious movement cloaked in secrecy. A prosperous Black family that rose from the ashes of American slavery. A forgotten boy. And a daring escape.
Jamie Mustard was born into one of the most influential fringe movements in the 1970s: Scientology. Raised on a mythos of spaceships and made to believe that it was his life’s purpose to help save the world, he was determined to survive—not only unsurvivable neglect but also the impossible physical and psychological gauntlet of extreme poverty and illiteracy. Child X is a dark existential journey into a deepest hole of human existence and the road back.
The unbelievable story of a lost generation of children, Child X takes readers through Jamie’s childhood and adolescence in “the movement,” his daring escape, and his rise into self-possession. With wit and vulnerability, Jamie sheds light on one of the untold, but not uncommon, accounts of a powerful Black family that rose from the ashes of slavery to prominence and wealth, and how the counterculture of the 1960s and 70s caused that rise to crumble. This deeply personal true story gives a child’s-eye view of one of the most notorious American religious movements in history. Despite his family’s success, Jamie would be born a slave and then reborn an artist. Through extraordinary encounters with celebrity, icons and historical figures, it also powerfully places Black American history in the larger context of world events.
A universal story of resilience in the face of overwhelming odds, Child X celebrates yet transcends race—and is ultimately an uplifting impossible to believe story of rising out of adversity and building a life full of meaning and connection. With this book, Jamie continues working to restore his family’s legacy and provides a salient saga of the road to humanity and self-possession.
Product Details
- Publisher: BenBella Books (July 29, 2025)
- Length: 312 pages
- ISBN13: 9781637747094
Raves and Reviews
“As someone who’s deeply studied psychological indoctrination, Child X is a staggering triumph over the unimaginable. A profoundly moving and important book, at once haunting and beautiful.”
—Holt McCallany, lead actor, David Fincher’s Mindhunter (Netflix)
“Child X is a vivid, harrowing memoir of a childhood shadowed by hardship and illiteracy in a dark movement, ultimately of personal redemption and triumphant artistic self-expression. Its message is essential.”
—Gabor Maté, MD, New York Times bestselling author of The Myth of Normal
“A moving story about overcoming the impossible.”
—Hilary Bevan Jones, film and television producer and first female chairman of BAFTA
“A riveting trek through history and the resilience of humanity, Child X unpacks the legacy and unyielding resilience of a young boy just trying to survive. A book you can’t put down.”
—Jelani Memory, vice president and publisher at DK Books/Penguin Random House and winner of the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Bravery in Literature
“Child X is brave and deeply moving. Profound and powerful, this work is a cinematic, literary masterpiece."
—Laura Hearn, former BBC news and current affairs journalist and producer
“As someone who’s seen war, Jamie’s story is an astonishing childhood of the brutality of a different kind of combat. A harrowing and inspiring journey of what a human being can overcome and endure. If blood runs through your veins, read this book.”
—Lt. Colonel Paul Toolan, Ranger and Commander of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (ret.)
“Child X reveals that resilience and vulnerability are a superpower. Together they are the deafening whisper that says, I will not let my past dictate my future. I was blown away by the power of this story and how it can serve all of us.”
—Jimmy Akingbola, lead actor, In the Long Run (HBO)
“An exploration of the human experience that is at once tragic and soul-stirring. An exhilarating true story of what is possible for a human being to overcome—a vivid road map of the human experience.”
—John Faber, MD, forensic trauma doctor and former national medical director of behavioral health at Humana
“A stirring story of a boy born at the darkest edges of humanity and his road back. Raised by wolves, a lost child can find themselves. Emotional and profound.”
—Frank Ochberg, MD, founding board member of the International Society for Trauma Stress Studies who clinically defined Stockholm Syndrome for the FBI in 1975
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): Child X eBook 9781637747094
