Billie’s Kid is now available to buy in paperback or as an eBook
REVIEWS OF BILLIE'S KID
Click here to read the recent amazing 5 star reviews on Amazon
A Trip Through the Full Spectrum of Emotions
ByColonel_GSC on 10 August 2018
I read this great little book from cover to cover with hardly a break. Captivated by Steve's story of his search for his for his blood parents as an adoptee, I accompanied him through the full spectrum of his emotions during his quest. No spoilers, so I'll park the details there, but suffice to say this book is written in plain English with no 'waffle'. Without hesitation, I can heartily recommend 'Billie's Kid' by Steve Tucker.
I really enjoyed reading Billie’s Kid
By lulu1234 on 1 May 2018
I really enjoyed reading Billie’s Kid, it was an honest heart rendering account of being adopted. I was particularly interested in having some insight into adoption as my husband and I are volunteers for a Christian Charity called Safe Families for children. The book also brought to mind the search for my own Father. I would highly recommend this book.
I'm glad I did
By mrs n m noble on 21 April 2018
I bought this book to have a change from my usual reading material. I'm glad I did! From the moment I started I couldn't put it down. It is a very honest personal account of a true life event. Sad, heartbreaking interesting and sometimes amusing but never depressing or heavy to read , definitely written from the heart. I have no experience of adoption but it was so interesting it made me want to delve deeper. Glad I picked it
often taking you to painful scenarios that evolve throughout the journey
By Mark Edwards on 8 April 2018
You feel every emotion throughout the course of this book. Steve conveys his feelings and fears with total honesty, often questioning his own motives and regularly forcing you to think how you would react in a similar situation.
It's a very intense read in parts, often taking you to painful scenarios that evolve throughout the journey. The chapter where Steve suddenly receives a phone call from the wife of his dead blood father (who knew nothing of Steve's existence until that point) was really uncomfortable throughout but brilliantly delivered. Steve has a great ability to bring the various characters involved into your world, clever and subtle observations that remind you of other people that you already know.
Superbly written, I couldn't stop reading it once I started. A story full of insight into human behaviour and ultimately love in its various forms. Well done Steve for a fantastic book.
Touching account of an adoptee's search for answers
By Amazon Customer on 4 February 2018
As an adoptee I fully relate to this book. The need to find out answers is overwhelming and snowballs through life and is it is never the intention to hurt anybody in that search. Thank you Steve for an honest account it made me cry in parts. Not all searchng ends like on the tv, mine didn't either, but it does provide many answers to questions that we just can't get rid of. I wish you peace and happiness.
Honest and compelling insight.
By T. P. Bragg on 17 January 2018
Steve sent me his book...we had re-united over the phone after some years without communicating (poignant?). I used to play in his jazz band and we had fun. Reading this book brought me back in time and obviously highlighted how Steve had metaphorically travelled back in time. His writing style is honest and forthright...very engaging. I read the book in two days - that says it all. Well, in fact within 24 hours: from one afternoon through to the next. it has made me think, reflect and there were times when I had a smile on my face - sometimes a wry smile. I was not adopted and apart from trying to adopt at a time when it was so difficult - have no connection with adoptees (apart from Steve, that I know of) or adopters. But now I feel somehow connected; there was some resonance...maybe when we become orphans (losing our parents) we feel some of the adoptees disconnect. But this isn't at all a depressing read...it's a great insight. And even knowing Steve I too got that insight. It's a great read.
Five Stars
By Yvonne Jacquett on 17 October 2017
Interesting and emotional insight into an adopted child’s thoughts and feelings
This was a brilliant book to read
By mr jason osbon on 1 September 2017
This was a brilliant book to read. Once I picked it up, I didn't put it down until I finished it. I would highly recommend it !
Billies Kid
By Amazon Customer on 12 August 2017
Thank you to Steve for writing a.marvellous book, that all adopted children will be able to relate to. Great from start to finish ... a book you can't put down. Practical, poignant, happy, anger , all emotions covered in this.must read book
Well done for taking time to share your experiences to help others
A Good Read
By claudia phelvin on 3 July 2017
This morning I finished Billie's Kid. I had read about it in Devon Life (a favourite magazine of mine) and knew immediately I had to read it. I ordered it from my local library and was thrilled when they rang to say it had arrived. I used to work for Missing People - a charity that reunites families and works along with the police to help to find missing people through the media. A job I loved and it has never left me - it is in my blood!
I thoroughly enjoyed Steve's book and I understood the pain he had gone through not knowing his blood parents and also not wanting to hurt the parents who had loved him and brought him up in a happy and stable home. What a dilemma! He is very honest in his writing and you feel as though you are living the challenge along with him with all the ups and downs. If you are family minded - read it!
A real page turner
By Devonian cameraman on 21 June 2017
A really good read.
It's not the sort of book that i usually read, but once I started it I was hooked. I really got stuck in and ended up reading chapters at a time until I was too tired to go on and had to call it a night. Steve is honest and very open about his experiences. he takes you on a really interesting journey; not only though his own discoveries, but also those of his parents.
As someone who knows little of adoption i found it very interesting - and I can believe that adoptees and those affected by the issue would find this even more so.
Billie' s Kid
By jude young on 28 May 2017
Fabulous read...I could not put it down until I had finished it... Brilliant funny and so sad in.places... xx Jude China xx
Brilliant insight
By Amazon Customer on 13 May 2017
I actually do research for people who have lost contact with loved ones, or people that have been adopted or birth parents
The book was very interesting read. Such a good in site to the feelings and thoughts of both blood relatives and for the adoptive person.
What made it even more interesting was the diary inserts from Billie and also the honesty of Steve I would recommend this book
Well done Steve for a fantastic book
Written from the heart
By Wendy Percival on 22 April 2017
The first thing I have to say is how much I admire Steve Tucker for being brave enough to commit such a personal and deeply emotional story to paper, never mind to a public audience!
As a writer of genealogy inspired novels, my stories inevitably explore the themes of family and identity so it was fascinating to read a real account of an adoptee's feelings on such subjects.
The author's style is genuine and direct. He writes from the heart and isn't afraid of speaking his mind on current adoption policies.
The story itself also serves an important piece of social history. My favourite part was the diary of Steve's biological mother, written during her pregnancy. I was riveted and appalled in equal measure, as I read what she suffered due to the prejudice of the time against unmarried mothers.
An easy, interesting and emotional read. Definitely worth adding to your TBR list.
Five Stars
By lesley heath on 18 March 2017
Excellently written i wasn't able to put it down from start to finish
A search for truth
By Fiona Riley on 14 March 2017
I read this book not as an adoptee or adoptive parent, but as a friend of several adopted children now in their fifties. Some of my friends don't want to know why they were adopted as they are happy as they are. Some, like Steve, are desperate to find that missing part of themselves. They do not feel complete, and the need to know why they were adopted burns inside them every single day. They hide it well most of the time. They love their adoptive parents. But they yearn for the truth - even though they could cause everybody involved a lorry load of pain.
Steve wanted to find his origin. He was obsessed with finding out where he came from, and why he was given away. He never stopped loving his adoptive parents. They never stopped loving him. But how do you explain your desperate need to know, to parents who have loved you since the moment they set eyes on you? Before they saw you, even!
Steve’s story is an emotionally honest record of the fear, joy, elation, loss, gain, and, most essentially, knowledge, he experiences as he takes the journey to find the truth regarding his own existence.
A compelling story about Adoption
By mrs barbara orchard on 8 March 2017
I've only just started reading this book about Steve Tuckers story about his adoption and so far I have found it very compelling.
His story is very emotive and the more I read the more I feel the pain he has endured.
I was one of the "birth mothers" from the 1970's who was given no choices or other options but to give their baby up for adoption and reading Steves account of his search has brought all the emotions back. All my life I have been haunted by my sons forced adoption and still to this day feel ashamed. This book is brilliantly written and I can highly recommend it to you if you are adopted or been affected in any way by adoption.
A Gripping Story and a must for anyone interested in the Adoption Process
By Janet on 19 December 2016
I was fortunate enough to win a copy of this book and I am very glad that I did, otherwise it may have passed me by. It is a no-holds-barred account of the author's search for his birth parents. It is also a realistic investigation of the adoption process, both in the 1960s and more recently. The stark reality of the psychological impact, both of being adopted and of establishing links with birth relatives is laid bare. It should be recommended reading for all those contemplating a similar search. I was caught up in the story, as the research unraveled and we got to know the author through his frank account of how the quest affected him.
A must read
By SB on 11 December 2016
What a fabulous book! Well written and straight from the heart. Steve describes his journey so well its as if you are walking beside him. Steve is a remarkable gifted man and I thank him for sharing his story
Sensitive, enlightening and intelligent
By Mac The Fork on 8 November 2016
This book is a wonderful read, especially as it is a true story. Reading this book I felt that I was on the journey all the way with Steve to find his blood mother, Billie, and got to know her and her friends through his sensitive writing and her letters. The work also highlights the horrors of a Dickensian system back in the 1950's and 1960's regarding the treatment of unmarried mothers and adoption - a real eye opener. I imagine it will be of great interest to anyone who has been affected by adoption. I have enjoyed reading Steve's story very much and would recommend it to others.
A very good, well written life story of how adoption in ...
By Amazon Customer on 9 October 2016
A very good, well written life story of how adoption in the 60s affected both child & mother. I would recommend this book to all fellow adoptees, their families and anyone considering adoption. Well done Steve for putting pen to paper
I enjoyed the book thoroughly and I've been on the journey ...
By mojo on 25 September 2016
A must read for any adoptee especially if your just starting out on our voyage of discovery. I enjoyed the book thoroughly and I've been on the journey a long time and recognised many of the emotions in this book.
Highly recommended.
By Bill Coleman on 31 August 2016
This is a very enjoyable book and will be of interest to non-adoptees. It is very honest and very moving at times and you can really follow Steve's journey through to the end . Highly recommended.
A touching and intelligent book
By Seaside girl on 19 August 2016
Billie's kid is an emotional and thought provoking true story of adoption from the viewpoint of the adoptee, well written and hard to put down. I, personally found it very hard to read as a "blood" mother of a son a year younger than Steve and I knew all the heartbreak of losing a son to adoption and of tracing him in later life only to be rejected. I also spent time at Red Gables, Billie's Mother and Baby Home and knew all that she had suffered there and understood her resulting depressive illness which I also suffered. By chance, I met Steve after finding out that he lived in the same Devon village as me and found him supportive and helpful in my search for my son and I can recommend his book to anyone wanting to find out about adoption in the 1960's and how diferent people's attitudes are to single mothers today
A Facinating Read
By Amazon Customer on 16 August 2016
Very few male adoptees have written on the subject. I read it from cover to cover and could not put it down. I felt an instant bond to Steve ( we were both adopted in 1961). It is written from the heart with complete honesty. There is no happy reunion but a feeling that the pieces of the jigsaw are fitted together well enough to allow Steve to move forward at peace. So much I can completely relate to and beautifully written. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone with a link or interest in adoption. Thank you for sharing your story Steve.
Five Stars
By Amy Tuson on 14 August 2016
Great read, moving story, a must read for everybody :)
This was a great read. As an adoptee myself who has found ...
By Derek Sloan on 14 August 2016
This was a great read. As an adoptee myself who has found birth family, there were many parallels with my own story...that sense of not quite belonging and an intense curiosity to know my roots, and the emotional rollercoaster of finding new family...to name a few. So much of what i was reading, especially at the beginning of the book, had me thinking "wow..me too!". Its good to realise you are not alone. Steve's story becomes very interesting and takes some pretty amazing turns! He doesn't beat about the bush over the psychological effects of this type of search, which I appreciated as one who felt a similar way. Steve discusses 1960s adoption and adoption as it is nowadays..a vast difference. He weighs up the pros and cons of each system and gives his opinions.
All in all it's an Adoption book I would recommend particularly to people who may wish to, are in the process of, or who have already searched for family.
T.Sloan
A brutally honest story of adoption told from the heart
By Jenny and Ray on 20 July 2016
My knowledge of adoption was rather basic until I read “Billie’s Kid”. This is one of the most moving true stories that I have ever read. Its author, Steve Tucker, takes the reader with him on his soul-searching journey that touches on the rawest of emotions and sensibilities. Steve, a jazz musician, happy married with two children, knew he was adopted. Always curious about his blood mother, it was the birth of his first child that spurred him on. This seminal book should be required reading for all agencies dealing with every aspect of adoption. For adopters, adoptees and those wishing to search for their biological parents this book is highly recommended.
A must read
By Ann Songhurst on 22 June 2016
Very well written a great help to anyone thinking of searching for birth families . Shows the turmoil felt throughout finding who you are.... the excitement and emotion of seeing your real name for the first time is almost overwhelming ..some people may find the search is all and .they .don't need to meet up . I .felt a feeling of intense sadness throughout the book and so hope Billie's kid has found peace . anyone adopted will relate to parts if not all of .his story thank you for opening up about this subject I,m sure it will help many ,and also throw a light for non adoptees to help understand us .
There is no fairy tale ending but a sense of peace pervades as the answers to a great many questions are uncovered
By Mrs J Owen on 5 June 2016
A fascinating, incisive read whether you are interested in the topic of adoption or not. It held my attention throughout as I shared in the frustrations that Steve went through in his search for his biological parents. There is no fairy tale ending but a sense of peace pervades as the answers to a great many questions are uncovered.
An amazing book!!! A must read!
By Maria on 30 May 2016
I started to read Steve's book and it was so capturing that I couldn't stop until I finish it. It is very powerful and emotional, a must read. It is amazing how things changed over a few decades....from being forced to give your baby for adoption in 1960 to single parents heaven, now....!
As an adoptee it takes a lot of courage to search for your blood parents and I guess a lot of them don't do it because what they don't know it can't hurt them.... But not Steve, he needed answers, he wanted to know that part of his early life!!!!! And he's got more than just answers, he's got an emotional and touching story. A real one!
Thank you for sharing your story with us Steve!
A very personal and honest odyssey
By Nick Wood on 27 May 2016
I was very impressed with this book. It was both entertaining and informative and I feel very privileged to have been taken in by Steve's personal and enlightening Odyssey. The speed at which I read this book is a tribute to the well-paced narrative which made me want to read on and understand what happened next. In style it is chatty, and incredibly observant. Some of the character observations are almost 'Dahlesque' in their attention to detail. But these are not exaggerated to shock or entertain but are open and honest depictions of the family he sought to find. I have never really entertained any thoughts about the adoption process, but have a couple of adopted cousins, one of whom had a negative experience with regard to finding her blood mother. I wish I had been able to read this book sooner which is a recommendation in itself. I also confess it has been passed around various other members of my family. This is a book to be purchased, shared and discussed. Thank you Steve for your commitment and dedication to publish it.
Great writing Steve
By Lesley on 16 May 2016
So far I received my book and started reading it straight away and I am a big fan. Great writing Steve.I am still reading this book. I have recently lost a much beloved friend so its taken me a bit to pick it back up. But yes I am really thrilled at how it is written.
Informative, inspiring and emotional.
By Angela on 11 May 2016
Even though, as a Social Worker, I am familiar with adoption cases I found this book informative and inspiring. It gave a real insight to how a child who has been adopted sees their world and reinforced to me the importance of a sense of identity to personal well being. I will take forward changes to my social work practice from reading this book. Thank you Steve.
A fascinating story about adoption and the adoptee. I ...
By ABC on 8 May 2016
A fascinating story about adoption and the adoptee. I found it interesting, moving and honest. I think it was brave of Steve to publish this book because of how much he bares his soul in it as well as giving his true thoughts on different issues raised during his search. Congratulations Steve on a thought provoking and emotional book.
Powerful and Moving
By Isolda on 28 April 2016
Powerful in its personal disclosure, Billie's Kid is a thought provoking account of an adoptee’s search for his birth family. Tucker does not stint in showing the emotional cost and vulnerability in that search. Billie’s Kid offers an accurate portrait of the past, of the hopelessness of 1960s single mothers and contrasts this with today’s accepting society and adoption process. Never sentimental, and always on pointe, to make the journey with the author, will raise questions for adoptees and non-adoptees about the dynamics of family and expectations of parents.
Fascinating history
By Bridget Oliver on 15 April 2016
Steve Tucker was adopted as a tiny baby. He always knew this, but had never been told why his blood parents hadn’t kept him, or, indeed, who they were. It was soon after the birth of his eldest son that Steve was first inspired to look into his past; the baby looked so much like him that Steve began to realise that the comfort and security acquired through family resemblance was something he’d been missing all his life. A few years later at the funeral of his wife’s mother, Steve was struck by the shared features of virtually all his wife’s family; there was no doubt that they all came from the same tribe. And so began Steve’s intensive search for “someone who looks like me” at the age of fifty.
The book is a candid account of Steve’s often painful and confusing experiences from his first tentative steps within the local government adoption services to his first major gathering of a new-found extended family.
I’ve known Steve for many years: our children attended the same schools; we live a few hundred yards from each other; our sons played football together and collected conkers from the same chestnut tree each autumn. But it wasn’t until I read about the forthcoming publication of this book that I knew he was adopted. The initial announcement on Steve’s Facebook page had me intrigued – Steve is well-known in this area as a jazz musician and band leader, so to read that he discovered music and the arts in the lives of both his blood parents was fascinating….I immediately put in an order.
When the book arrived a few weeks later, it went to the top of my to read pile, and then became a page-turner from the outset. Steve explains in great detail the decisions he had to make, his first exciting discoveries, his doubts and anxieties as well as those of his adopted family. He really lays his soul bare and is not afraid to let the reader in on his vulnerabilities. I really appreciated this honesty which made for an extremely gripping and emotive story. For any reader who is adopted, thinking of adopting or considering searching for blood relatives, there is plenty of food for thought and sensible advice within the pages of Billie’s Kid.
Much need answers
By Mrs. J. E. Hurrell on 15 April 2016
It must be a great relief for Steve to have got all his answers. His family, particularly his adoptive parents, must have found his distraction during his stressful time of research and then writing the book to be difficult.. Now that he has got it all down in black and white he and his nearest and dearest will be able to go forward to enjoy their future. Well done Steve for giving us an insight to a situation most of us had no idea about. Definitely an eye-opener!
A very moving book. I have nothing but admiration ...
By James Clemas on 15 April 2016
A very moving book. I have nothing but admiration for the author. Thanks for telling us your story Steve.
An inspirational story of one man's search for his identity
By janwil on 15 April 2016
I was intrigued to pick up Steve's book and read a such an enjoyable account of his life story. Not that I really needed that much encouragement because being being an adult adoptee and of a similar age myself I am currently contemplating many of the same things that Steve has so honestly written about. His style is at times a little raw which helps to connect you to the pain that he felt not only of the events but also revisited in his process of writing, but I'm sure that if you're easily offended or in any way narrow minded it probably isn't a book for you. Steve does nothing more than seek to share his story and the world in which he was born into which at times is unpretty. I can so easily empathise with his early struggles and rejoice in later successes. His perseverance and determination against all odds inspired me. The book should inspire the reader too if they leave aside any prejudice or tendency to judge. Steve is revealed through it as a tender hearted compassionate middle-aged man whose desire to know himself better through his journey of discovering his roots has enriched my life through reading his book.
Truly heartfelt account of Steve's search for his birth parents
By Claire C. on 21 March 2016
I read this book in one sitting, I couldn't put it down. It was an open and deeply moving account of the experience of adoption from two perspectives. One from Steve who was adopted, telling us of his feelings of not quite fitting in and the confusion of loving his adoptive parents, but still feeling the need to find his birth parents. We followed his roller coaster search for answers and felt every minute with him, always wanting to know more. We were then transported back in time to the words of his birth mother and her moving diaries telling the story of how it all happened, her despair of not being able to keep her beloved son and her feeling of helplessness in an unforgiving and prejudiced world, a world where single mothers were institutionalised. Not only is this a deeply moving book, it is social history told in the words of personal experience.
Only time will resolve how good or bad your choice of enquiry routes might have ...
By Terry Williams on 16 March 2016
Steve, I think you have been very deeply honest and detailed taking me into a world unknown to me. It is a thorough work of detection and I wonder if you should have tried your hand at police work sometime. Life can be strange in many ways for all of us and in your case there are many up and down hills. I'm not sure about the feelings of your families regarding your persistence in continuing along certain avenues in some parts but do believe this caused you concern and your having to make difficult decisions. Only time will resolve how good or bad your choice of enquiry routes might have been. Your book will be of great assistance to those in a similar situation as yours and your inclusion of the past and current legal status made a lot of sense. I didn't agree with the bad language but do understand how frustrating a search for what appears to be impossible can be. I wish you well, great success with your book and hope that it has given you great satisfaction, clarity and conclusion in a large chapter of your life. Best Wishes, Terry
Excellent what can I say
By Julie on 12 March 2016
Excellent what can I say , as adoptee my self I was reading bits in my own life which brought great memories back to me well worth a read , still on my journey but it's just fab piece of work what Steve,s put magnificently together as he went on his journey.
Beautifully written book on Adoption
By Maggie Peplow on 12 March 2016
This is an absolute must read for all adoptees and adopters and indeed anyone interested in the subject of adoption. On the surface Steve appears to have it all - he was adopted by a loving couple unable to have children of their own, who were fairly comfortably off. He is now in a very happy marriage with two children, living in Devon and making his living as a jazz musician. It all sounds idyllic but Steve has issues, problems at school followed by troubled teenage years when he left home. Pushing fifty he decides to try and trace his blood family, perhaps they can solve these issues - what was his first family like and who does he look like, where did he get his musical talent? The more he looks the more questions arise - will they still be alive and if so will they resent his search and perhaps even more daunting - how will his real family react to the search? It gives you a first hand insight into the mind of an adopted person, which perhaps those of us who grew up with our own family may never have considered. I will leave you to read this wonderful book and see for yourself if Steve finds the answers he is so desperately seeking. I suggest you keep a box of tissues handy too.
How times have changed!
By Hazja on 11 December 2015
An amazing insight into the thoughts and life of an adult searching for answers to his origins. As a fellow adoptee and a friend I can empathise with Steve. I have been "found" by a full brother and discovered we have various half siblings and my background is certainly less flamboyant!. Interesting to see how the music gene gets passed on for both of us,!
A brilliantly written book...told from the heart showing how brave Steve was to delve into the unknown and pursue his quest.....even if it wasn't what he was expecting or wanting.
A tear jerker in places but impossible to put down. Steve's a natural writer and this book is a real eye opener to the lives of unmarried mothers in the late 50s and 60s.
A true and honest account of the writers feelings - ...
By Huggs 24 on 5 November 2015
A true and honest account of the writers feelings - The journey an adoptee takes and the feelings they deal with.
Exploring new concepts despite some disapproval from his adopted family the desire to find out more about his birth parents over rides those feelings from his adopted parents.
I guess we all need to know where are roots are.
Who am I?
By Paul Jewels on 22 October 2015
An amazing story of a boy growing up in a wonderful loving family but searching for his genetic connections. There are strong emotional elements with moments of hurt, anger and frustration mixed with confusion and isolation. It is written from the heart and is a must read for both an adopted person and like myself someone who is an adoptive Dad. It is an honest reflection of a very personal story. Amazingly told!
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MUSIC IS IN MY GENES: WHAT A DIFFERENCE ADOPTION MAKES!
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