The Soloist: A Lost Dream, An Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music by Steve Lopez

A newspaper columnist and a homeless man meet on Los Angeles' Skid Row. The journalist, Steve Lopez, is struck by the man's beautiful playing on an old 2 stringed violin.  When Lopez finds out this man, Nathaniel Ayers, attended Julliard he is shocked. Why would this extremely talented man be homeless lugging around his belongings?  A friendship develops between the two men and  Lopez attempts to get this man off the street.  Mental illness has gripped Nathaniel and he can be very hard to deal with, sometimes kind and gentle, sometimes in a rage. The stories the reporter writes in the Los Angeles Times bring awareness to the issue of homelessness. Slow successes do occur in helping this brilliant musician but disappointments are frequent.  This book is a biography and a movie has been made.  Both the book and movie are engaging, showing compassion and friendship which affect the two men positively.