New memoir “Beatniks, Tupperware, and Chiles en Nogada” by Robert de Paola is released, an immersive reflection on culture, travel, and lessons from an unconventional life.
“Beatniks, Tupperware, and Chiles en Nogada” by Robert de Paola has been released worldwide. This 336-page memoir, which has achieved bestseller status in Amazon’s Hispanic & Latino and Immigration categories, is a broad, autobiographical work that is part travelogue, part character study, and throughout, a vibrant celebration of the human experience.
Following the author’s early life moving from place to place and surrogate parent to surrogate parent (including a commune of Beatniks), through collegiate and graduate experiences in New York, California, and Pennsylvania, into an adult life of academia, entrepreneurship, and adventure, a return to Mexico, and ultimately, parenthood, Robert’s journey is filled with interesting characters and hard-won life lessons.
After discovering he had a younger sister in his late 60s, Robert was inspired to tell his life story and share the insights gained from an unconventional upbringing. Throughout the novel-like narrative, letters written to Alessia (the author’s sister) serve as summaries of different periods of his life. The surrounding chapters are rich with dialogue that bring the myriad characters to life, and throughout the book, readers learn valuable lessons alongside the author as the story of his life progresses.
Through his story, de Paola reminds us to seek the richness of life each and every day, to learn from cultures different than our own, to immerse ourselves in music and art, to never stop learning, and to take charge of our own journey. This book sees the goodness in people, embraces differences, and emphasizes the importance of relationships with family and friends.
As readers accompany Robert from his youth to adulthood, they’ll see the value of moments small and large, and be inspired to reflect on their own lives to find the good things that make life worth living.
Beatniks, Tupperware, and Chiles en Nogada (ISBN: 9798986295367) can be purchased through retailers worldwide, including Barnes and Noble and Amazon. The paperback retails for $18.99. Wholesale orders are available through Ingram. Review copies and interviews are available upon request.
From the back cover:
“Beatniks, Tupperware and Chiles en Nogada is that rare memoir that reads like fiction.”
⎯JJ Hebert, bestselling author and founder of MindStir Media.
Wrenched at the age of five from his Mexican family in Baja California, Robert lives with his unconventional birth mother who works as a traveling Tupperware salesman in 1950s Southern California. Their many adventures include living with a World War II veteran suffering from PTSD, reciting poetry to the rhythm of bongo drums in a Beatnik Commune, and extended periods of homelessness.
Robert, a former professor at an Ivy League college and founder of a successful nationwide software company, emerges as a scholar searching for a feeling of belonging and a family. His journey takes him to both coasts of the US, to Europe, and finally, to a remote, mountainous region in Mexico. There, he rediscovers love where he least expects it, and finds a place to call home.
Beatniks, Tupperware and Chiles en Nogada is written with humor, heart, and an understanding of how complex humanity can be. It is a celebration of the human spirit that will captivate the reader with unforgettable characters and exotic locales.
About the author:
Robert earned his doctorate from University of Pennsylvania where he became an Asst. Professor in the School of Medicine. He later founded PyraMed Health Systems, a nationwide software company. He presently lives in Florida with his wife, Rosa, and his daughters, Regina Sophia and Danna Melissa.