Customer Reviews

Fifteen Years

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I am in awe at KNB's ability to hit a home run time after time! In "15" we meet Josiah Tucker, a bright young man with a seemingly dim future. The only bright spot in his formative years is when he is taken out of his mother's custody and placed in a foster home for several years. During the period of time he spends in the home of Thomas and Joanne Smith, he is introduced to, and accepts Jesus Christ as his Lord and savior. Having been returned to his mother as a teen, it is his spiritual connection to Christ that kept him from being pulled into the abyss of drugs, crime and poverty that was prevalent in his neighborhood. Josiah's mother battled incessantly with "demons" that rendered her incapable of properly caring for her son. Any love she may have had for him is far from apparent. Given the absence of any notable parenting skills, Josiah reverses roles with his mother and secures meager employment while attending high school so that he can provide them with the bare necessities of life. Even with the weight of the world on his young shoulders, Josiah still manages to maintain a GPA high enough to receive several generous college scholarship offers. On the very day of his high school graduation, Josiah receives life altering news about a close family member.

Fast forward to adulthood. Josiah Tucker is the man most women dream of - handsome, accomplished, modest and grounded in faith. However, with all Josiah has going for himself on the surface, he is haunted by his troubled childhood and guilt-ridden for being angry with his mother. His closest friends convince him to consult with a minister/therapist about his emotional turmoil. Bishop Lumpkin helps him realize that he has to confront his troubled past so that he can embrace his bright future. His assignment is to find his foster family, a task that seems impossible. However by divine providence Josiah does in fact locate the only real family he ever knew. With much soul searching, truths and shocking revelations, for family ties are reconnected and love abounds.

"Fifteen" ends with Josiah finding love on a level he never expected, from a source he never imagined possible.

Fifteen Years

In FIFTEEN YEARS by Kendra Norman Bellamy, Josiah "JT" Tucker is living the dream life. He has just been promoted in his job, closed on a new home, and has a luxury vehicle. His best friend, Craig, tells him he needs a woman to share this with. At the advice of his pastor, JT makes a journey into his past. He has to overcome his past to embrace his future. His mother was an addict and he was in and out of foster homes. JT was in the home of foster parents, Thomas and Joanna Smith, for six years. He considers them to be his parents. He is overjoyed that when he returns they welcome him with open arms. JT is caught off guard with all the different types of love he experiences. Will this be the trip he needs to finally find love?

Bellamy delivers a story that is true to the biblical principle that one part of the body can not function without the other. We all need someone. We need family and people around us that love us. I enjoyed the many lessons and the honesty of the characters. At times, I felt the story may have jumped around but overall it is a great read.

This book was provided courtesy of the publisher.

Donnica Copeland

APOOO BookClub

Sista Talk Book Club

Fifteen Years is an awesome engaging story. Like many kids Josiah grew up being moved around, a mother struggling with drugs and dirt poor. The difference is he had a foundation - GOD! As it is written, "Train up a Child in The Way (God), he should go and I've never seen the righteous begging bread." This story illustrates how God has a plan for our lives and though at times it seems like He has abandoned us or that our Prayers go unheard, HE is always there. Though, life may not be easy, if we would just HOLD ON, and HEED to his voice "All things Will Work Together For our Good."

Josiah's adult life is a dream come true and from all appearances looks FABULOUS! But, he's not whole. How often do we want better for ourselves, only to achieve it OR for God to finally bless us with the desires of our heart and still not be content? Sometimes there is a longing inside each of us, a haunting past, or unforgiveness in our heart; all things that only God can answer and complete. Are you Whole?

Truly an inspirational story! You won't be disappointed.

Fifteen Years by Kendra Norman Bellamy is an awesome read. The story draws you in from the beginning and you can not put the book down. You follow Josiah Tucker during his teens years all the way to corporate success. What is success without someone to share it with. Josiah learns that family is not only the person who gave birth to you but those who nurtured and helped mold who you are today. Only after he reconnects with his family does he feel that void in life is filled. One of KNB's best, but all her books make you part of the chatacters lives. There is a testimony in every book and you feel God talking to you through her words.

Great Read. Sometimes it takes us 15 yrs more or less to listen to God and do what God wants us to do. hear God and know that He is talking, leading and guiding you.

Josiah (JT) Tucker is a young African American male climbing the corporate ladder of success. He is employed by MacGyver Technologies (a fortune 500 company) as senior manager. He drives a Audi R8, has a large office and a budget to redecorate to his specifications. He has arrived - right? His life is a far cry from the life of that teen who had to struggle to keep the lights on in a shabby Chicago dwelling. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Inside JT is a very empty, troubled person. He is the product of an absentee father (he doesn't know who his father is) and a substance abuse mother. JT spent most of his formative years in foster homes and a ward of the state. He lived for several years with Thomas and Joanne Smith who loved him and took care of him. They gave him a sense of stability and religious upbringing. When he was 14, he is returned to his birth mother. Life was really hard living with a drug addict. The day after his graduation, he is informed by the police that his mother has been murdered. This is where JT's life become hectic. He does manage to graduate high school, carrying a 4.1 GPA and is valedictorian of his graduating class from Martin Luther King High School. His GPA earns him a full scholarship to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

To all outwards appearance, JT has it all, but appearance is only hiding the truth. He is empty, broken and tormented with memories that won't go away. During a session with Bishop Nathaniel Lumpkin he breaks down and confesses all his hurts, fears and frustrations. Bishop Lumpkin suggest he find his "missing leg" - the Smith family - and reconnect with the people who truly loved him.

JT's journey to find the Smiths makes for an interesting read. Highly recommend you read the book to learn what transpires when JT reconnect with Thomas and Joanne Smith. They have not forgotten him and has prayed for him daily. Does he discover secrets about his past and the love he has always longed for? The ending will surprise and delight you. A lot can happen in Fifteen Years.

Ms. Bellamy is a best selling author and founder of KNB Publishers. Highly recommended.

This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.

Kendra has done it again.From page one the reader feels connected to Josiah Tucker and his dilemma. Kendra has managed to create memorable characters in the midst of a compelling story of faith and deliverance.Josiah Tucker has spent his life making up for the things he lost. His successful career has kept him busy but not busy enough to forget the pain of losing both his drug addicted mother and the foster family who taught him about faith. Armed with the word of God and counsel from his pastor, Josiah sets out to find what is missing in his life-family. While re-connecting with his foster parents and foster siblings, he discovers a new love which confuses him. However,some much needed wisdom and a revealed family secret helps to bring everything into perspective. Kendra has written a story rich with character and depth where God's perfect love and grace prevails once again.

Ashea Goldson [...]

[...]

From the outside Josiah Tucker appears to be living the life most dream of. It will be his internal dissatisfaction that sets him on a journey to quell the torment of his soul. Along the way readers will be introduced to interesting characters and an unexpected twist.

Author Bellamy presents a story that speaks to the tragedy of dysfunction and how its seasons of pain and joy are the clay that shapes the outlook of one's worldview.

Dr. Linda F. Beed / Reviewer

On Assignment Reviews for Let Us Bear Fruit

*Book provided courtesy of publisher.

We are first introduced to Josiah Tucker (JT) as he is waking up at home alone at the age of 15. From there we are slowly introduced to some aspects of his life - the fact that he did not know his father and his mother is alcoholic, prostitute that leaves him home alone. Despite his problems he manages to work and becomes valedictorian of his class. His savior - God and his praying mat.

Fast forward another 15 years and we find JT spiritually grounded, successful but still tortured by his past. The book takes us through his re-connection with his past so that he can live the future that God has in store for him.

I found the spiritual lessons in the book to personally be very healing. The lesson of waiting to hear from God is right on point.

I found the story to be a little disjointed. It feels like something is missing that I can't quite put my finger on. For a 15 year old boy who was used to not having his mother around to be so tormented that he cries about it 15 years later is a bit of a stretch. But the story does bring home the importance of family. I also found the budding relationship between JT and his "foster sister" to be a bit unsettling, despite the comparison made to another relationship (don't want to give away a spoiler).

I also wanted to read more about his best friend Craig. It seems like it was another story that was started but never fleshed out. There was some information shared about Craig, but not enough to feel that he was a true key player and what was shared did not have as important a part in the story that it should have. I would imagine, however, it would have made the book too long.

Overall, I truly enjoyed the struggles and spiritual lessons in the book. It's refreshing in today's world where you can't even turn on the radio without hearing a song relating somehow to sex.

It has been awhile since; I've felt such a literary-spiritual connection! There are talents and then there are gifts. God has blessed Kendra with both! Kendra penned a powerfully detailed, thought provoking, and soul searching, novel.

In Fifteen Years, we are introduced to Josiah (JT) Tucker. On the surface, he appears to have it all, e.g., a wonderful job and great friends! But, there is no peace within him. At a young age, a personal tragedy alters the way, JT feels, and view things in life. Over the years, JT goes through life; almost existing and not living. In a unique way, JT will find himself dealing with his past trauma, thus allowing healing to take place. I love the healing process, Kendra illustrates through JT. I too, loved JT's, staid faith and how he stayed committed to his morals, despite negative influences that surrounded him--such as an drug addict mother, and no father figure. In the end, it is about the decisions that we make in life.

5 stars!