Villa Paradiso

by Ted Atoka

Four college grads, two from Trentino, Italy and the others from Oklahoma, befriend two elderly ladies. The silver-haired seniors hope to spend the final stage of their lives in a life care retirement facility with an Alzheimer's unit and memory garden. The elderly duo form an alliance with the young quartet and decide to build a state-of-the-art retirement facility in a small town in Oklahoma. They must face challenges like the extremes of Oklahoma weather, lackadaisical employees, thieves, unscrupulous salespeople, and a member of the legal profession whose goal is to profit from all their hard work. They must constantly work to keep all of their combined efforts from ending in disaster. They must do everything possible to keep their business plans from falling apart, even when they come up against challenges that stretch their physical and financial abilities. They very quickly learn that working with retired people can lead to some of the most interesting and thought-provoking situations one could ever imagine. It's an occupation that brings the lives of those who are generations apart together. Caution: This book may bring a smile to the stoniest of faces.

Note: Yes, a peanut does appear in the second word of the book's title.

180 pages, ebook

First published January 26, 2013

Reviews

[Sue M. Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those interested in a story that outlines the plight of those in a nursing home facility, this is the story to read. As a former worker in a nursing home, I can say that the author's description is dead on accurate. Staff with attitude, non-existent budgets and accounting inaccuracies of the drugs distributed is pretty close to what I used to work with. Everyone of the staff had major attitude problems and rarely gave good care of the residents. It was very sad and hard to work with.

This story is very similar to my real life job except when a major benefactor swoops in and begins the process of properly caring for those who live there. Two elderly women saving those from their own generation. It's hard to comprehend but they are the hero's of the story.

The reader will experience many emotions throughout this book. I highly recommend it!

[Mary Schildman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Light hearted read

Normally I read mysteries, but found this a light hearted, fun story. Love the creative vocabulary of the older characters. Love the young people mixed with the elderly. Good outlook on serious medical issue of Alzheimer's. Will read more

[Susan Faloon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. When an author creates characters that come to your mind for weeks after you've read the last word it's a very good thing.


(More detailed review coming later.)

[John Janovy Jr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is Ted Atoka's launch into the subject of a luxurious, and free, home for Alzheimer's sufferers, all of whom become real people, with diverse talents and contributions.