quiltmom14 's review for:

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

5.0

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This book had such a profound impact on me; I finished it last night and was still awake at 5am.... Aside from the obvious story about Nathaniel and Lopez, it raises so many, many questions. The meeting between the two was a sheer stroke of luck for Nathaniel, the fact that Lopez is a writer was a sheer stroke of luck for Nathaniel and the tireless advocates for homelessness and mental health, the fact that the story takes place in a city with a phenomenal symphony orchestra was a sheer stroke of luck for everyone involved (including the musicians) - and so on. What if Lopez had met someone else? Is there value in focusing so much time, energy and money on one person, when there are thousands more literally next door? How jealous would I be if a loved one of mine were a different Nathaniel and I was seeing everything being done for this one? Since Nathaniel’s “progress” (and that’s a whole other topic here) is so limited - he is just as profoundly ill at the end as he is at the beginning - is it worth it? Who gets to judge if it’s worth it? And, being from a music background myself, the power of classical music to heal, free, balm - and cross boundaries between minds that are “normal” and those that are not - is at times, overwhelming. This one is going to stick with me for a long, long time.