The Stirring Story of Castaway Kid

First of two parts

It’s not often that a book published close to 20 years ago gets a second chance at public exposure. But Castaway Kid by R.B. Mitchell is no ordinary book. That is seen by the fact that approximately 400,000 copies are in print—and in seven languages.

Here, I should explain that I worked on the first draft of the manuscript several years before the Focus on the Family imprint of Tyndale House Publishers released it in 2007.

Although it got close looks from several major houses, it didn’t quite make it over the finish line. Rob then hired a female writer to revise the material, saying he needed “to get some of the testosterone out of it.”

A major disappointment of my career was that I couldn’t quite get Castaway Kid to publication. But Rob told me that I should feel good about helping carve on the rough draft and ultimately help it see the light of day.

Then too, we have become friends—something that doesn’t happen all the time with authors—and I cherish our friendship more than a best-seller.

Awareness Campaign

When Rob told me about hiring a national marketing firm to launch a campaign to create more awareness this fall, I asked what inspired him.

Emotionally powerful emails from around the world of changed lives, he replied. (They can be read in English, and translations are under the languages tab on his website.)

“It is clear the message of Castaway Kid is universal,” said Rob. “Since God has not led me to write a second book or a different book, this is a good way for me to evangelize.

“This helps me lead the unchurched one step closer to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, all the while encouraging both the walking wounded and the believer.”

Wounded Orphan

For those who haven’t read it, Castaway Kid is Rob’s memoir about growing up in 14 years in an orphanage in western Illinois. His mentally challenged mother stuck him there as a three-year-old after his father unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide.

Rob would be one of the last “lifers” to reach 17 in an orphanage, since many have turned to foster care or smaller group homes for those unable to grow up in a traditional family.

In addition, after reaching the supposed age of majority, he found himself homeless and searching for his place in the world. It’s a story millions of foster children can understand.

What makes Rob’s more painful is that his affluent paternal grandmother in Atlanta could have taken him in. Instead, she only allowed him to make summer-time visits before sending him back to Illinois.

Whenever I meet someone struggling with a dysfunctional background or other trauma, I suggest they read Castaway Kid.

One trick of the devil is persuading folks who experience horrendous childhoods or other misery that they’re all alone—mired in pain, with no one understanding their suffering. Rob’s childhood story is full of ugliness and struggle, yet also of overcoming.

Critics of faith often lampoon believers as weak-minded, gullible souls trying to escape reality. But only when Rob decided to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior did he come into the reality of a rewarding, successful life.

Now a financial advisor overseeing $450 million of client assets, and married faithfully for 45 years, with two married adult children and a flock of grandchildren, his testimony is a stirring story of triumph—on  multiple levels.

If you pick up his book, you won’t be sorry you did.

Next: The fight to forgive.