Growing Up X
A Memoir by the Daughter of Malcolm X
Readers rate it 5.0 (1 on Hardcover)
273 pages · Released Jan 14, 2003 · One World
Content report card
Growing Up X parent’s guide: what’s inside
Sexual content
LGBTQ+ themes
What it offers
A note for parents
This is a thoughtful memoir by Malcolm X's daughter about growing up in the shadow of her father's 1965 assassination and her mother's tragic death in a fire in 1997. While the book addresses serious historical violence and family trauma with emotional honesty, it does so in a reflective, age-appropriate way that emphasizes resilience, faith, and family love rather than graphic detail. The narrative is fundamentally about identity, belonging, and honoring parental legacy, making it valuable for older teens studying African American history or processing loss.
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From the publisher
“Ilyasah Shabazz has written a compelling and lyrical coming-of-age story as well as a candid and heart-warming tribute to her parents. Growing Up X is destined to become a classic.” –SPIKE LEE February 21, 1965: Malcolm X is assassinated in Harlem’s Audubon Ballroom. June 23, 1997: After surviving for a remarkable twe... “Ilyasah Shabazz has written a compelling and lyrical coming-of-age story as well as a candid and heart-warming tribute to her parents. Growing Up X is destined to become a classic.” –SPIKE LEE February 21, 1965: Malcolm X is assassinated in Harlem’s Audubon Ballroom. June 23, 1997: After surviving for a remarkable twenty-two days, his widow, Betty Shabazz, dies of burns suffered in a fire. In the years between, their six daughters reach adulthood, forged by the memory of their parents’ love, the meaning of their cause, and the power of their faith. Now, at long last, one of them has recorded that tumultuous journey in an unforgettable memoir: Growing Up X. Born in 1962, Ilyasah was the middle child, a rambunctious livewire who fought for–and won–attention in an all-female household. She carried on the legacy of a renowned father and indomitable mother while navigating childhood and, along the way, learning to do the hustle. She was a different color from other kids at camp and yet, years later as a young woman, was not radical enough for her college classmates. Her story is, sbove all else, a tribute to a mother of almost unimaginable forbearance, a woman who, “from that day at the Audubon when she heard the shots and threw her body on [ours, never] stopped shielding her children.”
Shelved under
- Biography & Autobiography
- challenging
- emotional
- informative
- reflective
- Family
- Biography
- General
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ISBN 9780345444967 · One World