Since this story is a bout a man who has schizophrenia I decided to do a little research on my own on this disease. Schizophrenia is a severe brain disease. About one percent or two million people develop this disease during their lifetime. In men, symptoms usually start in the late teens or early twenties. For woman, symptoms usually start in the twenties or early thirties. Symptoms of this disease include hearing voices, seeing things that in reality aren’t there, believing people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or planning to harm them. Unfortunately, most patients suffer with this illness throughout their lives. In estimation, one in five people recover completely. Hallucinations and illusions occur commonly. Also, delusions are common as well. Delusions are false personal beliefs such as the belief of being cheated on, harassed, or poisoned. Schizophrenia also affects a person’s ability to think straight. Some may begin to attempt to commit suicide as a result of having this disease. In the story Nathanial most likely has paranoid schizophrenia. Which are hallucinations and suspicion of others. The reason I did this was to be more educated of what Nathanial deals with throughout his life. By knowing this I feel more connected with Nathanial and his problem. It is easier to relate to him and what he goes through.

            Lopez’s articles seemed to be about different social issues that he strives to gain the cities input. I feel that he would not write about something where he could not gain people’s opinions. For example in the article “Money For Stadiums but not for Schools”, Lopez has many different opinions and he made sure they were from a broad range of people. He made sure that the people he interviewed about the topic were from different social and age groups. The purpose of writing this story “The Soloist” in my opinion was to show how sometimes one of the most remarkable stories are overlooked. Who would think that a homeless man would have such an extraordinary story? Most of us, even writers would overlook a topic like this thinking there would be no impact.

            Lopez seems to write about issues of people less fortunate. In his book, Nathanial has an illness that can ruin a life. Even with this illness, Lopez found the extraordinary skill in this man. His writings are mainly for awareness, from writing about a person’s life to writing about funding money for schools. They are all about letting people know what social issues are going on and try to make people step out of their bubble. I feel as if he writes to influence people to do what they believe in and to show that no matter what obstacles will be in the way, it is how you act when faced with them that matters.  The story itself is definitely an autobiography and biography. It falls into these two categories because he talks about his life and his experiences along with the life of Nathanial Ayers. He chooses to write these stories in first person point of view. This in my opinion is so that his readers can understand his reasoning’s and thoughts as they go along.

            The Soloist is definitely a story like no other. Sometimes we are faced with biographies that are not that as interesting as a fiction book would be. With this book it is not the case. Lopez introduced this story in such a way that it attracted more than readers. It has become a major motion picture. While writing this I honestly do not think that Lopez believed it would ever become this big of a success as it did. From his past stories I feel as if his dream finally came true. People all over are exposed to a story different from any other. 

As I began reading The Soloist, I felt as though this book was not going to keep my interest. Well, as I continued to read I was proven wrong. The first few chapters seemed not quite interesting in my opinion but as I read on I began to hold a sturdy interest. Although I am not that far, (chapter 7) I seem to have a good understanding of the relationship growing between Nathanial and Steve Lopez. If you may not know Nathanial is a homeless man who suffers from a disease called schizophrenia. This disease is non curable and his living situation does not makes conditions any better. Steve Lopez, as a writer for a newspaper was looking for his next story. Never imagining it would involve a homeless man with such an extreme talent. Nathanial is an amazing musician. This story is definitely very different than what I have read in the past. Most stories we read in English are fictional, so this was a shift of content. I was a little worried at the beginning because biographies usually do not interest me, but after reading more of the story, I felt less discouragement and more enjoyment.

I am eager to find out more about Nathanial’s past and how he wound up in such a negative situation. I hope to find this information as I further my reading.