Ronald Miscavige Sr., father of embattled Scientology head honcho David Miscavige, is writing a memoir titled “If He Dies, He Dies,” according to noted Scientology reporter Tony Ortega and confirmed with the book's publisher by The Hollywood Reporter.
The title refers to an April L.A. Times article claiming that Miscavige had placed his father under surveillance out of fear that he might disclose secret information about the organization. According to the Times, when one of the men tailing Miscavige Sr. saw him suffering from an apparent heart attack, David Miscavige told him not to intervene, saying “if he dies, he dies”.
The Church of Scientology denies these events completely, although the account certainly fits with accounts of the organization's pattern of intimidating and harassing defectors, as chronicled in Lawrence Wright’s 2013 Scientology expose “Going Clear."
When the two private investigators tailing Miscavige Sr. were interviewed by police, one of the things they claimed is that Miscavige Sr. had been bribed by the church not to complete his book. If so, the bribe was unsuccessful; according to Ortega, Miscavige Sr. has signed a book deal and hopes to release the memoir by next spring.
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