Sixty-One

Life Lessons from Papa, on and off the Court

By: Chris Paul, Michael Wilbon - contributor

Narrated by: Chris Paul

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.

A powerful and unexpected memoir of family, faith, tragedy, and life's most important lessons.

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 61 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 airball 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 accomplished exactly what he 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’ll speak about 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 will talk 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

©2021 Chris Paul (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

Sixty-One

What a great book. Inspired me to continue my autobiography. Sad you forgot to mention Mr. Big Shot! That’s your guy!

Great book.

I loved how Chris used life examples to give perspective to how he’s been able to achieve the level of success that he has.

Beautiful tribute to an inspirational man

Absolutely a beautiful story written and read with love by Chris Paul. This picturesque writing is a great listen for the family as it takes you through the experiences and real life lessons learned. Thank you to the Paul family for sharing and God bless each of you.

Red Benbow

I really enjoyed this book. Being born and raised in Winston Salem I remember hearing about his Paw Paw’s senseless murder. I didn’t really know the details about how it went down or how it affected this young king. Thx for being so honest in the writing of this book. I loved hearing your story. Thx for always representing Winston Salem and being a role model that the youth of our hometown can look up too. God bless !

So full right now…

A well done book, read by the original author, Chris Paul, himself. What a super bond he held with his grandfather,one which, including myself, will ever be experienced.
The struggles of African Americans, especially those of males, were truthfully told about. Will it ever end?!! Chris Paul, thank you for doing all you’re doing to enable the young and old to keep moving forward.