Tortillas & Peanut Butter: True Confessions of an American Mom Turned Mexican Smuggler

- Multicultural Nonfiction Finalist, 2017 National Indie Excellence Awards -
- 2017 BookLife Award, Memoir/Autobiography: "This book is well crafted and features a strong narrative engine....The plot hits the ground running, contains unexpected twists and turns, and is thoroughly immersive....The writing boasts a wonderful electricity and an engaging voice.... An unfortunately common situation...quickly develops into a wonderfully uncommon and heartfelt adventure."
- An Erma Bombeck "Hot Tamale" http://humorwriters.org/2016/02/19/hot-tamale/
- “Spot-on, highly entertaining, and absolutely hilarious” - Lynne Willard, Editor & U.S. expat
- A wealth of cultural information tucked between the chuckles -
- Includes discussion questions for book clubs & classrooms -
- As the zany protagonist comes to understand Mexico & appreciate Hispanic culture, readers do the same -
- 20% of profits go to the ACLU -
- "Holy Cow! This book is hilarious!" - Cynthia Norman, Cosmic Philosopher
- “Learning about a new culture can be hilarious – as seen through this book!” – Diane Gilliard, Counselor
- An Amazon Top-10 Bestseller in Travel/Mexico (7/17-9/17); Biography/Memoir, Crimes & Criminals, Solo Travel, Single Parenting, Teen & Young Adult Biographies (various dates) -

SYNOPSIS

A suburban housewife liberates herself from her peanut-butter-and-jelly life and flees to Mexico. While battling the cultural quirks that send less adventurous souls hightailing it back to the U.S., she struggles to learn Spanish, cope with foreign customs, raise her kids, and run a school. To supplement her meager income she smuggles, using her gift for gab and wily wit and gift for gab to outfox the government officials. But not all of her smuggling tricks and tactics go as planned.

EMBEDDED MULTICULTURAL ISSUES
- The women’s movement
- The 1960s cultural revolution
- Culture shock
- Immigrant adjustment & adaptation
- Immigrant parenting issues
- Identity development in children of immigrants
- Intergenerational value clashes in immigrant families
- Diverse customs & mores
- Racism
- Sexism
- Prejudice
- Classism
- Ageism
- Cultural evolution
- Expatriate re-integration
- Individualist/Independent (e.g., North American) vs. Interdependent/Collectivist (e.g., Hispanic) orientation to:
° Time (past/present/future)
° Activity (being/becoming/doing)
° Social relations (hierarchical/collateral/egalitarian)
° Self-efficacy (fate/destiny vs. personal control)