Can I Get a Witness? (Paperback)

by ReShonda Tate Billingsley (Author)
Key Phrases: Tate Billingsley, Aunt Ida, The Mason House (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The irony of a divorce-court judge getting divorced herself is not lost on Vanessa Colton-Kirk. After all, she's seen everything in her notorious Houston courtroom, where she's presided over the breakup of countless unhappy and disillusioned couples. Even her own sister, Dionne, is dealing with a relationship drama of her own, a betrayal that's left Dionne hungry for revenge on the man she hoped to marry. But when career-driven Vanessa chooses to work late on the night of her fifth wedding anniversary, her husband, Thomas, decides he's had enough of her putting work before starting the family he so desperately wants -- and he tells her he wants out.

In a last-ditch effort to save the marriage, their own judge orders Vanessa and Thomas to attend a spiritual retreat. She goes -- but not without a fight. And just when she thinks she's won, fate steps in and helps her see things in a whole new light. Now Vanessa and her sister face the toughest choices of their lives. Can Dionne untangle herself from a payback plan gone horribly wrong? Can Vanessa rebuild a bond that she had a big part in destroying? Will she learn from her own mistakes and her years of experience on the bench? Or will she need something else to keep a tide of bitterness from taking over her life?

About the Author
ReShonda Tate Billingsley is the author of the nonfiction book Help!  I've Turned into My Mother and six previous adult novels: My Brother's Keeper, for which she received the prestigious Gold Pen Award for Best New Author from the Black Writer's Alliance and the Nova Lee Nation Award from the Greater Dallas Writing Association; the national bestseller and #1 Essence bestseller Let the Church Say Amen, chosen for Library Journal's Best of 2004 list for Christian fiction; I Know I've Been Changed, a main Selection of the Black Expressions Book Club and #1 Dallas Morning News bestseller; the sequel to Let the Church Say Amen and a USA Today 2007 ?Summer Sizzler? and Essence bestseller Everybody Say Amen; The Pastor's Wife, also an Essence bestseller and Can I Get A Witness.  Her previous teen novels are Friends 'Til The End, Fair-Weather Friends, Getting Even, With Friends Like These, Blessings in Disguise, and Nothing But Drama, all available from Pocket Books.  She is also a contributor to the anthology Have a Little Faith.  She welcomes readers to her websites at www.reshondatatebillingsley.com.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (July 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416521674
• ISBN-13: 978-1416521679
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #55,539 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Family Witness 4.5 Stars, July 4, 2008

By	Angelia Menchan "acvermen.blogspot.com" (Florida) - See all my reviews

On the surface, the Colton sisters all seem to have perfect lives. They are a close-knit family led by matriarch, Aunt Ida and her bible. Vanessa Colton-Kirk is married to Thomas Kirk and is living a fabulous life on the way to becoming a judge. Rosolyn is happily married to her pastor husband and the mother of a young son. The youngest sister, Dionne, is not quite sure what she wants to do with her life but one thing she is certain of is her love for Roland. Can I Get a Witness by ReShonda Tate Billingsley gives us an inside look at the lives of these sisters, showing that things are not always what they seem.

Vanessa is thirty-five and wants nothing more than to become a judge. However, Thomas wants to be a father more than anything and is tired of waiting for Vanessa to make a decision about motherhood. More than anything he is tired of waiting for her to make him and their life a priority. Thomas makes a decision that could potentially alter their lives forever, causing them both to make decisions that change the direction of their future.

On the surface, Rosolyn appears to have the perfect life. She has been happily married to her pastor husband, Henry for years. They have a young son and everything indicates they are living a spirit-filled life with no trials and tribulations. Dionne and Vanessa are stunned to discover that their seemingly perfect sister has been hiding a secret for years. The question becomes will her revelation help them with their lives?

Dionne is head over heels is love with Roland, though she know he is still married. She is convinced that once he is divorced they will be married. Dionne is convinced she and Roland will be together but a hasty decision she makes in anger may come back to haunt her.

Can I Get a Witness is a wonderful novel about family, marriage and forgiveness. Ms. Tate Billingsley has produced another winner that I highly recommend to all who enjoy the written word.

Angelia Menchan
APOOO BookClub

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As It Seems, September 19, 2008

By	MzCarmen "Reading Mom" (Chicago, Illinois) - See all my reviews

As `Can I Get a Witness?' opens we're introduced to Vanessa, a divorce court judge hearing a case about a cheating husband. Every day it was the same case, just different participants. The only thing that was appeasing was that this was simply a stepping stone to her political career. But what happens when, suddenly, the case being heard involves Vanessa and her husband? Not so ordinary now is it?

Rosalyn, the older sister, appears to have it all right. She's married to a preacher, with one son, cooks cleans and works. Her life is flowing correctly. But what her sisters don't know is that she's dabbled with the wrong and is now an advocate for what can happen. Will her sisters heed her advice?

Dionne has the ideal relationship, or so she thinks. Well it has a few flaws, but they are manageable. When Dionne finds out that in addition to her boyfriend being married that he has a girlfriend, she is no longer able to idly sit by. Will a decision she makes in haste destroy her plans?

Aunt Ida, the matriarch of the family, has a way with words. Despite what the girls get entangled in and whether or not they want her assistance, she's there; ready, willing and able to get them in order verse by verse.

`Can I Get A Witness?' is a wonderful novel about family, marriage and forgiveness. This is just one of those feel good reads.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Written "Read it in one night!", December 31, 2008

By	D. S. Little "D.LittleWriter" (San Antonio, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book was amazing! I had the pleasure of reading this novel for a joint book club meeting in which the author was present. The book had my attention from beginning to end and was so real in dealing with issues that I could not put it down. No character was perfect and the plot was something we see everyday.

In meeting the author she was so pleasant and hilarious. She is truly a woman with a good heart and she has a loyal reader for life now. I recommend this book because while enjoying the characters you do learn about the power of forgiveness, fighting for your marriage, and the age old tale "What goes around comes around..." Enjoy like I did.