The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music

The Soloist is a poignant journey into the harsh world of a brilliant and talented homeless musician whose story will pluck at your heartstrings.Through the very compassionate and capable voice of Steve Lopez, the reader is led into a world of stunning surprises and shocking insights into the very real domain of mental illness and homelessness where doors are opened and scenes displayed with unrefined veracity.This novel seems to beg to be read as a clever work of fiction...however it is far from fictional!This is a true story of amazing strength and of the careful 'baby steps' required to navigate the delicate emotions that continually thunder inside the heads of the mentally ill... and to walk beside a man of enormous talent who is also afflicted with schizophrenia; living on the streets of Skid Row while creating beautiful music for all around him to hear.Nathaniel Ayers once had a brilliant career ahead of him in the music world and was a stand-out student at Julliard.Everything changed as his slow descent into mental illness evolved and one day he found himself on the outside desperately seeking the comfort of the euphonious chords that sweetly sooth the scattered thoughts of his present-day schizophrenia.Nathaniel worships Beethoven as he pushes his shopping cart full of instruments and his survival cache through the streets and tunnels in the slums of downtown Los Angeles.The chance meeting of Nataniel Ayers and Steve Lopez is what makes this startling story and the friendship that is formed fills the novel with charity, empathy and grace.This novel will change how you look at the mentally ill and homeless around you forever....Mr. Lopez has helped to shine a bright and fresh light on the 'stigma' of what we call madness.With true compassion, we see how delicate the path to well-being can be and learn the deeper meaning of "There but for the grace of God go I"Thank you Mr. Lopez...you really DID make a difference!

Wow! I read this book as part of a book club. I flew through the first 95 pages and was disappointed to have to put it down! I quickly finished the rest of the book the next day. This author beautifully tells the tale of the difficulties of dealing with mental illness--and the wonderful, powerful possibilities that people possess. The author sheds light on a topic that many people may not know about or would choose to ignore--and how the realities in the cutbacks in mental health care have created "skid row". I consider this a must read book for entertainment as well as for mental health professionals and politicians and anyone who is touched by mental illness.I also love the fact that this book is realistic. There isn't a "perfect solution" presented nor a rosy outcome. Real life rarely has that. The author did a great job with describing how he struggled with the fact that there wasn't a "perfect solution" or rosy outcome and how he came to terms with meeting someone where they were and allowing that connection and friendship create a bridge to possibility. The author repeatedly struggled with wanting to find the "right" help and discovering that love and friendship was the "right" help. And while "the soloist" wouldn't be where he is today without professional mental health treatment and community resources, he would have never been able to access them if he didn't first have the love and friendship that the author offered.This is a wonderfully inspiring story and one, that I hope, encourages people to become active in their own communities offering love and friendship to their neighbors.

This is an unusual sort of biography. Actually, it is more memoir than biography, but there is a definite element of biography here, also, so I don't disagree with the tag.The Soloist is about Lopez's experiences in befriending a mentally ill homeless man whom he had noticed to be a startlingly gifted musician. As it turned out, the man, Nathaniel Ayers, had been trained in classical music at Juilliard. As an indication of Ayers' talent, note that he attended Juilliard on a full scholarship from 1970 - 1972, when black students were extremely rare - almost nonexistent - especially ones from lower-middle-class, single-parent families. He did extremely well in that ultra-competitive and stressful environment (straight A's in music performance classes; and also in other classes until his schizophrenia kicked in and his grades began to fall) until the illness finally forced him out. Ayers had been living on the streets for 33 years and was in his mid-50's when Lopez met him.The book is as much about Lopez's efforts to help Ayers as it is about Ayers himself, which is why I'd consider it primarily a memoir. Finding financial help was the easy part. Lopez's popular columns in the largest newspaper of Los Angeles inspired a barrage of donations and offers of help.The problem was, Ayers didn't want help. He was content with his life as it was. But Lopez was frantic with worry about Ayers' safety on the worst Skid Row in America, where violent (and commonly random) beatings, stabbings, and deaths were a daily occurrence.Lopez does a great job describing his agony and frustration with Ayers' refusal to accept the donated free apartment and free treatment; while at the same time recognizing Ayers' dignity and his right as an adult to make his own decisions. They are feelings I know well. I experienced the same thing once in taking care of an old friend who had become mentally unstable, homeless, and also terminally ill due to alcoholism. It was an awful time in my life, and Lopez's vivid account brought it all back to me.Nathaniel Ayers, however, did not smoke, drink alcohol, or do drugs. In fact, he had a violent disgust towards anyone who did. It makes his situation all the more tragic - there is no way the reader can brush him off with the excuse, "He brought it on himself."One quote from the book really brought it home to me. We now know that most - and probably all - mental illness is caused by physiological dysfunctions that cannot be controlled by willpower or self-discipline. As Stella March, an activist who has a son with schizophrenia, said, "[Why is] it socially acceptable for them to sleep on filthy and dangerous streets? Would anyone tolerate an outdoor dumping ground for victims of cancer, ALS, and Parkinson's?"The Soloist is a moving, interesting, and very informative book which has accomplished a great deal in bringing these issues to the attention of the public as well as community leaders. But our economy has worsened considerable in the two years since its publication. I am afraid that the momentum it generated has been lost, and that budget cuts have made services for the homeless and mentally ill even scarcer. All the more reason why we should read this book now.The writing, although competent, isn't perfect. It is a little boring in places when it goes into politics. And Lopez's hopes and fears combined with Ayers' lapses become sadly repetitive after a while (although that is an artifact of the situation rather than the writing, it does influence the reader's experience of the book.) Also, I was surprised by the author's occasional mistakes in language and grammar. Admittedly, they are infrequent and subtle, such as using a word that was okay but not quite right, when a better option was available. Such things surprised me in view of Lopez's more than three decades as a professional journalist for highly respected newspapers and magazines.And it would have been nice if some photos had been included. You can see some online - including videos - if you google "Nathaniel Ayers," although it is difficult to differentiate the ones of the real Ayers from the movie stills and promotional photos. Check out this video from CBS's "60 Minutes": [..]I'd especially liked to have seen photos of Ayers' reunion with Yo-Yo Ma, who was a classmate at Juilliard - this was one of my favorite parts of the book.But these are small quibbles compared to the honesty of the writing, the highly interesting person that is Nathaniel Ayers, and the importance of the subject.I'm wondering what has become of Ayers since the book was published in 2008. The reader really comes to care about him. I hope that he is safe and well, that the two men's friendship has continued, and that Lopez will write a sequel.(273 pages)Quote from The Soloist:"The pendulum has swung too far to the side of leaving people like Nathaniel to fend for themselves."

So good. An honest depiction of schizophrenia and an encouraging story of acceptance and hope and the power of music

A human story, beautifully told. Steve Lopez has a nice way with words, never too many. A must read for all humans.

Certains avis sur amazon.com critiquent le style. Je n'avais aucun problème avec le style et dans tous les cas, je trouve que l'intérêt de ce livre est au-delà de la haute littérature. Ca donne à réfléchir dans plusieurs domaines: le sort et la prise en charge des schizophrènes, l'impact thérapeutique important de la musique. Mais avant tout, c'est un récit touchant à propos des liens humains. Plusieurs fois pendant la lecture, j'ai dû me rappeler que ce n'était pas une histoire, une fiction. Ce destin brisé et ses conséquences tragiques ont vraiment existé. Mais heureusement les gens qui essaient d'améliorer les choses existent aussi.Ce livre est pour vous si vous croyez encore (ou voudrez croire) dans la bonté humaine; si vous croyez (ou voudrez apprendre) dans les pouvoirs immenses et incroyables de la musique.La première chose que j'ai regardé en terminant ma lecture était si l'auteur a partagé les bénéfices...c'est le cas. Donc merci Steve Lopez pour vos actions, pour votre partage et pour cette belle leçon de vie.

Kann dieses Buch selbst schlecht bewerten. Es war ein Wunsch meines Sohnes dieses zu lesen. Ich bin froh, das ich dieses Buch gefunden habe, im Handel nicht möglich und mein Sohn war glücklich als er es hatte.

I've just received the book yesterday (after seeing a preview for the movie based on the book the past week). Having read Mr. Lopez's articles I was looking forward to the book.I have yet to actually sit down and read it cover from cover, but after reading three disjoint chapters the book is an instant hit with me. His very personal, yet thorough writing style makes you want to continue on to learn more about Mr. Ayers and Mr. Lopez. I found myself kinda cheering for Mr. Lopez's quest to help Mr. Ayers at one point. Definitely a worth read if you're into human interest stories. It's well written.

This was a good price and a fantastic read, buy this book and you will enjoy it.