Join us as we celebrate local author Lois Robin’s new book Mamita’s House, A True Tale of Tortilla Flat. The evening will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a public reception with the author, cash bar and some nibbles. At 7:00 p.m. join us in the Salinas Room for a discussion of the book and its meaning, the author’s process and a digital presentation. Book-signing and Q&A to follow the talk. All books must be purchased at the National Steinbeck Center to be signed.

Mamita’s House is about an extended California Indian Family that lived during the depression years in a neighborhood in Carmel, California called Tortilla Flat. It was to this neighborhood that John Steinbeck came to learn about the life of the paisanos. While Steinbeck used characters from Tortilla Flat in his book of that name, he told a different story from the equally compelling true one. The true one focuses on Mamita as a family heroine with the strength and fire to bring her family through tumultuous times. This account brings the reader an insight into the experience of Californian Indian as they moved from tribal life to the urban life they enjoy today. The book also supplies one more piece of the puzzle of what made Steinbeck’s literature contribute to the history of the Monterey Bay. Recent photographs connect today’s descendants with those who lived in and around Mamita’s House at the turn of the last century.

For the last twenty five years Lois Robin M.A. has photographed and written about California Indian cultures creating related videos, CD’s and exhibits. She has presented papers or displays at multiple Californian Indian conferences. She is also an environmental activist focusing on the preservation of rivers, wildlife and native plants. Lois has a special affinity for the Monterey Bay where she lives – its history, landscape and ancient and recent cultures. A Steinbeck enthusiast, she recently devoted a year to rereading his books and those of his biographers.

Read more about the Meet the Authors Series.