Sixty-One: Life Lessons from Papa, On and Off the Court Audiobook

From the NBA superstar comes a powerful and unexpected memoir of family, faith, tragedy, and life’s most important lessons.

Chris Paul, “The Point God,” a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team and current point guard for the Phoenix Suns, narrates this compelling memoir. Deeply affected by the untimely death of his grandfather, Nathaniel “PaPa Chili” Jones, Paul recounts the inspiration and influence PaPa Chili continues to play in his life and career.

The day after future NBA superstar Chris Paul signed his letter of intent to play college basketball for Wake Forest, he received a world-shattering phone call. His grandfather, Nathaniel “Papa” Jones, a pillar of the Winston-Salem community where he owned and operated the first Black-owned service station in North Carolina, was mugged and ultimately died from a heart attack resulting from the assault. His funeral filled the largest church in the county, which held over 1,000 people. He was sixty-one years old.

The day after burying his grandfather, Chris was coping the best way he knew how: by playing basketball for his high school team. After pouring in shot after shot, his last attempt was an air ball purposely flung out of bounds from the foul line before Chris exited the game. The next day, local news headlines declared that he fell six points shy of the statewide single game high school scoring record. But he had accomplished exactly what he had set out to do: scoring 61 points, one for each year of life lived by his grandfather.

In Sixty-One, Chris opens up about life beyond basketball and the role his grandfather played in molding him into the man and father he is today. He tells of the foundation of faith and family he built his life upon, what it means to be a positive light within your community and beyond, and the importance of setting the proper example for future generations.

Most importantly, Chris talks about his home, Winston-Salem, and the close-knit family and village that raised him to become one of the most respected leaders in all of sports.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press

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“I really hope that people not only read the book but I would love for you to listen to the audiobook, which I just finished recording.”

— Chris Paul, in an interview with Kirkus Reviews