Reading nonfiction is something I find to be very important in my life. This year, even when I took a break from most of my reading, I’ve still picked up a nonfiction book nearly every day and spent a couple of minutes learning from the pages.

This is my most recent nonfiction read. It was interesting, opening my eyes to a world that I’m very unfamiliar with.

Find the book on: Amazon and Goodreads
Pages: 256
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Release Date: May 5, 2020
Title: Shifting Shadows
Nonfiction

ABOUT THE BOOK

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.

About the Author

Herman Mendoza (www.hermanmendoza.com) speaks nationally and internationally more than 100 times a year on college campuses, in churches, at Christian conferences, and in prisons–with his ministry spanning four continents. He is an associate pastor at Promise Ministries International and is the director of Powerhouse Kids Ministry in New York City. Mendoza lives on Long Island in New York with his wife, Alexandra. Their three children, Samantha, Adam, and Penelope, share in their ministry.

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.