I Can't Put It Down

A customer at B&N came in to buy a couple of copies of this book to give as gifts. He said it is a great story and that I should read it. Always looking for good nonfiction, especially life stories, especially life stories dealing with mental illness, I requested it from my local library and am now burning through it. It's coming out as a film next month starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr. I hope it gets people talking about mental illness and the variety of treatments available. I hope it gets people to reach out for help and to help.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Scurrying back to his office one day, Lopez, a columnist for the L.A. Times, is stopped short by the ethereal strains of a violin. Searching for the sound, he spots a homeless man coaxing those beautiful sounds from a battered two-string violin. When the man finishes, Lopez compliments him briefly and rushes off to write about his newfound subject, Nathaniel Ayers, the homeless violinist. Over the next few days, Lopez discovers that Nathaniel was once a promising classical bass student at Juilliard, but that various pressures—including being one of a few African-American students and mounting schizophrenia—caused him to drop out. Enlisting the help of doctors, mental health professionals and professional musicians, Lopez attempts to help Nathaniel move off Skid Row, regain his dignity, develop his musical talent and free himself of the demons induced by the schizophrenia. Throughout, Lopez endures disappointments and setbacks with Nathaniel's case, questions his own motives for helping his friend and acknowledges that Nathaniel has taught him about courage and humanity. With self-effacing humor, fast-paced yet elegant prose and unsparing honesty, Lopez tells an inspiring story of heartbreak and hope.