Sheboygan, WI -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/11/2014 -- In the days before iPads and Xboxes, children would escape out to the back woods, or bike ride with their friends to the next town for an ice cream. It was a time when electronics didn’t control young minds, and exploration meant more than surfing the web.

In Thomas DePaoli’s richly detailed new memoir, ‘Growing Up Italian in the 50s’, readers will be transported back to that time, as they journey with DePaoli through his childhood years in a small Pennsylvanian town.

“My book pays homage to a bygone era,” says the author. “Growing up, extended families lived in the same neighborhood, and you were bound together like a village. Everyone participated in raising the children – it was truly as group effort. The memoir is essentially a collection of memories from my youth. Some stories are humorous, some are factual, while others were written to capture the essence of a particular person or event.”

Continuing: “I wrote each story to preserve my memories and to honor my relatives. They are meant to be my personal reminiscences. I believe my book will instill a sense of nostalgia in baby boomers while showing younger people what life was like for their parents and grandparents. Isn’t it true that we often wish we could ask our grandparents questions after they leave us – ‘what were you like when you were my age?’ and similar thoughts. I want children to know what life was like and to be able to experience it through my words. It’s a gift to the younger generation. It’s our legacy.”

Synopsis:

“Growing Up Italian in the 50s” by Tom (Thomas) DePaoli speaks to the heart of the baby boomer generation. Whether you’re Greek, Irish, Russian or Cuban, chances are your family has deep pride in your ancestry. Tom DePaoli shares not only his pride in being Italian, but also his childhood in a small Pennsylvanian town in his memoir, “Growing Up Italian in the 50s”.

While children today are surrounded by video games, iPods and personal computers, DePaoli believes that his childhood in the 1950s was much better than those today. He demonstrates how he and his neighborhood friends didn’t rely on modern-day conveniences to entertain themselves. Rather, they escaped to nearby woods and participated in little league baseball and sandlot football. DePaoli shares his memories so that more recent generations can realize how that time period really followed “the good old days” description. He also highlights the importance of family, as most of his memories involve his large, loving Italian family.

“I primarily wrote this book to capture the experiences of growing up, and the 1950s seemed to be much better for children,” DePaoli shares. “Not everyone turned out the better from this, but most of us did.” “Growing Up Italian in the 50s” will instil a sense of nostalgia in baby boomers while showing younger generations what life was like for their parents and grandparents.

Since its release, the book has earned a five star rating on Amazon and rave reviews.

“Sometimes it is good to stop, reflect on the past, and remember where you came from and perhaps change around just where you are going. This book will serve several things. You will enjoy sharing Mr. DePaoli's memories, but you will also stir up the precious memories of your own. You will think, perhaps laugh, perhaps cry, but your heart will be awakened, if just for a moment, and perhaps you can recapture a memory that will change your tomorrow. Very heart felt and well done,” wrote Shirley Priscilla Johnson.

“Reading this book brought back many memories of my childhood, playing for hours with my two uncles in so many different games. That may be the most powerful feature of this book, how it helps the reader look back in fondness at the wonder and excitement of when they were a child,” wrote Charles Ashbacher.

Maria was equally as impressed, writing: “I loved reading Thomas DePaoli's book. It's filled with delightful short stories of family and activities of a young boy's life growing up in the 50's. Taking place in a simpler time where families grew up in the same neighbourhoods and where aunts and uncles along with grandparents played an important role in a child's life. It brought me back to my own upbringing. I thoroughly enjoyed each story!”

‘Growing Up Italian in the 50’s: or How Most of Us Became Good Wise Guys a Growing up Memories Book’ is available now: http://amzn.to/MSBjme

About Tom DePaoli
Tom DePaoli is currently the Management Program Director at Marian University in Fond du Lac Wisconsin. He is the Principal of Apollo Solutions (http://www.apollosolutions.us), which does general business consulting in the human resources, supply chain and lean six sigma areas. The company was founded in 1995.

Recently he retired from the Navy Reserve after over 30 years of service. In other civilian careers, he was a supply chain and human resources executive with corporate purchasing turnaround experience and Lean Six Sigma deployments. He has worked for over 10 major companies and consulted for over 50 organizations throughout his career. Some of his consulting projects included: information systems projects, re-engineering organizations, transformation, e-procurement, e-commerce, change management, global sourcing and negotiating. His industry experience is in the chemical, paper, pharmaceutical, IT, automotive, government, consumer, equipment, services and consulting industries.

He has been published extensively in journals, magazines and books. He has been involved in many forms of communications including website design, marketing campaigns, political campaigns, radio advertisements, and scripts. He is also the author of Common Sense Purchasing, Common Sense Supply Management and Growing up Italian in the 50s. They are available on Amazon.com

Visit his website: http://www.apollosolutions.us