Herman Mendoza built his kingdom in Queens, New York. He made a fortune selling cocaine with his brothers up and down the Eastern Seaboard. He had apartments around the city for his mistresses and a home in the Poconos for his beautiful nuclear family. But when he and his brothers were busted in a large-scale crackdown, his kingdom crumbled. Ready to kill himself rather than live behind bars, … Herman instead came face-to-face with the all-consuming love of God. He would never be the same.
Today, Herman shares his story at every opportunity, knowing that it may play a part in someone else’s journey into a relationship with Jesus. An engaging and fast-paced read, Shifting Shadows offers hope to those in despair, and shows all of us the lengths to which God will go to bring a troubled soul home. Also available in Spanish as Sombras cambiantes.
more
WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT THIS BOOK
The author did a great job of telling about his life without making it seem glamorous or going into too much detail. I appreciate the balance that he struck, and how I got a clear view of where he came from and the enormous change that took place in his life, but without getting bogged down in the lifestyle he lived.
I really felt like I got to know the author. He didn’t try and make his life look good or justify what he did and how horrible of a human he was. He got involved with drugs and gangs when he was just a kid, and his life spiraled out of control from there. From juvie, to eventually becoming a big-time New York drug lord, and then finally finding God while in prison, his story kept my interest and made me want to know what would happen next.
This book was a good reminder that God is at work all over the world and in various situations and that no one is too far past God’s love and forgiveness. It was also encouraging to see how the author allowed God to totally change and redeem his life. It was obvious that the author and his brother were a fantastic team, and to see them go from being drug lords together to serving God in prison together was neat. The author’s story was inspiring and a good reminder to not stop praying for people, even when it feels hopeless.
CONCLUSION
This book talks a lot about bad things – violence, drugs, unfaithfulness, alcohol, crime, running from the police, etc… But it does so in a way that is vague and doesn’t glorify that lifestyle.
RATING
I’m giving Shifting Shadows 3 out of 5 stars. Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for sending me this book to review on my blog.
Losing Everything & Getting More!
Herman lived life in the fast lane with lots of mistresses, property, alcohol and parties, while running a lucrative business as a top drug lord. Even though he lived like a king with everything money could buy, his life on the inside was a mess.
Then he was taken to jail, more than once. Everything was gone, things were hopeless, and he was ready to commit suicide.
While incarcerated, he met Jesus Christ and everything changed. Miraculously, he found peace for the first time in his life, even while living in prison.
Against all odds, he was released from jail. Instead of divorcing him, his wife became a Christian, and his family was restored. He became a pastor and began serving God. For years, he has helped people in dangerous areas of our country and throughout the world, telling them about Jesus while doing it.
This exciting, true story will captivate you, and you will not be able to put it down. I recommend this 5-star story to anyone who enjoys books about people who experience life-changing events after becoming a follower of Christ.
Bethany House Publishing has provided bookreadingtic with a complimentary copy of, Shifting Shadows, for the purpose of review.
Book Review–“Shifting Shadows” by Herman Mendoza
Well, I do have to say I think this is the first book I have ever read so fast! It took me only 2 days from start to finish. I literally could not stop reading as this book was so captivating.
When I got this book I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. It’s not the type of book I am normally drawn to read lately, but being that I have always loved reading testimonies of how God changed people’s lives, I thought I would probably enjoy reading it. Enjoy is not quite the word I would use to describe how I felt once I began reading, totally captivated would be more like it!
This book is the life story of Herman Mendoza, a boy from a poor family in Queens, NY who became a wealthy drug lord. For awhile he had everything he had ever dreamed of and more, yet it didn’t make him happy.
In fact, when he lost everything and was sitting in prison he said: “I had tried everything that was supposed to make me happy. I had more money and women than I could handle. I had nice cars. I went to all the best parties. I had a beautiful wife, three gorgeous kids and a nice house in the Poconos. But I wasn’t happy…..”
Herman found the One who could bring him happiness and a joy he’d never known and in this book he tells how coming to believe in Jesus Christ and being born again radically changed his life forever. He shares many miracles he experienced and how the his prayers and others prayers were wonderfully answered time after time.
I love reading books with good endings and this one surely has a great ending because with God writing the story it could not end anyway other than good.
Herman is living proof of how Jesus Christ can come into a person’s life and totally change them inside out, no matter who they are or what they have done.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a very inspiring book filled with miraculous testimonies, but I especially recommend it to anyone who is feeling they have no hope for a future, or thinks they are beyond help. This book will show you that God loves you and wants to have a close personal relationship with you. He wants to come into your life and change it for good, to give you a hope and future, one that is good and beyond anything you could possibly imagine.
I was given this book free by Bethany House a division of Baker Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.