Commodore's Messenger

A Child Adrift in the Scientology Sea Organization, Book 1

By: Janis Gillham-Grady

Narrated by: Jennifer Moore

At age 12, Janis was thrust into a role that no one, not even L. Ron Hubbard, could have predicted.

Commodore's Messenger begins by taking the listener into the life of the first family of Scientology in Australia: Yvonne and Peter Gillham and their three children, Peter Jr., Terri, and Janis. Life for the Gillhams is not without its challenges in Australia, but nothing compares to what happens when the family moves to England after dealing with the banning of Scientology in Victoria. Things spiral out of control, as Hubbard leaves England and takes to the sea to continue his spiritual research for mankind, as he puts it, or to escape the long arm of the law, as many critics contend.

Yvonne and her children soon find themselves enmeshed in Hubbard's inner circle: Yvonne, as one of his trusted aides, and the children, with Hubbard's own family. When Yvonne joins the newly established Sea Organization to support Hubbard in his seafaring adventures, her children find themselves aboard what would become the flagship of Hubbard's burgeoning navy.

Having children underfoot does not fit well with the serious nature of Hubbard's plans to expand Scientology's worldwide. Determined to make these children useful, he begins using them to send messages to various parts of the Apollo, hence the name Commodore's Messenger.

With this as a background, Janis' story comes from the earliest days and the epicenter of Scientology's Sea Organization. As a messenger, Janis was with Hubbard a minimum of six hours a day and often times, much longer. She was privy to all his moods, from sunny to thundering and was intimately familiar with everything happening on board the ship and the Scientology network.

Janis lived a life that few of her peers could ever hope to have lived. Hubbard's cavalier regard for the lives of others was astonishing. The Sea Org. vessels were piloted by those with so little seamanship training, it's a wonder no one was killed.

©2017 Janis Gillham Grady (P)2018 ListenUp Audiobooks

A Truly Insightful, Balanced, & Personal Telling of Life.

This is a first hand, personal, account of a huge swath of Ms. Gillham-Grady’s life that is as detailed as it is compelling, emotionally raw, and heartfelt. Told in the first person with a sincere attempt to not lose the reader (who may not be as familiar with all of the nuanced language, vocabulary, methods, etc. in Scientology). The author was clearly committed to conveying her experience authentically - even though she had the clear benefit of hindsight. My only critique of the audiobook, specifically, would be that the narrator (who speaks with an American accent) sometimes does not correctly interpret the intonation/rhythm of someone who writes with an Australian accent. The narrator also stumbles over some of the “unique” vocabulary but these elements are hardly rare in books not read by the author. However, these minor missteps pale in comparison to the story being told and the emotion clearly poured into the pages by the author.

Heart wrenching book

Heart wrenching book - that really shows how awful L Ron Hubbard was. Creating fear from the top - he showed little empathy to his staff and fellow Scientologists. If something didn't go his way, people would pay.. new orders created.

What this family went through tells the reader Scientology has been abusive from the beginning.

I highly recommend.

A lot of ship stories.

I think that this book could have had a lot more potential.

Most of the book talks about when she was between 12 and 14, around '68 and '70. Most of the stories are about the beginning of Scientology fleet and their adventures.

There are lots of details and descriptions from the eye of a mostly 12 year little girl.

It's interesting to know all these details if you want to know this period in the history of Scientology. But unfortunately, considering that she was part for a longer time in the church/cult, there's nothing more on the rest of her life, or Scientology life after more or less 1970.

Sometimes it's difficult to follow and it could be boring in some chapters. One of the main problem is that she goes back and forward between past and future. Often, you can understand it but sometimes you don't really understand why these back and forward as a more linear story would have been better, and even more enjoyable.

However, I've found the most of it interesting. It could have been 4 hrs shorter.

In depth and timelined.

Very long winded and detailed story.A fascinating insight into the Early years of the sea org. Would have been better in an Aussie accent,and with words pronounced correctly!!

Fascinating Inside Look

This is a fascinating inside look at the early days of the Scientology Sea Organization through the eyes of one of L. Ron Hubbard's young ship's messengers. Along with the sometimes harrowing, sometimes comedic adventures and misadventures of the organization is the story of a young girl who is left without her parents at the age of 12 to make her way in Hubbard's reality. It is a testimonial to the strength and adaptability of this young person. In this book you will get the whole story, the good and bad of Scientology which you won't see in most expose's