Doc Hendley
Founder and president of Wine to Water, CNN Hero, and author of Wine to Water
Steve Lopez
Author of The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music
Photo credit: Gilles Mingasson
When the Los Angeles Times reporter discovered a former Julliard student playing on Skid Row, he decided to help him off the streets. Their friendship — movingly recounted in The Soloist, the basis for the film starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr.—inspired Steve Lopez, recipient of the President's Award from the Los Angeles Press Club, to raise awareness of homelessness and mental illness.
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About Steve Lopez
Columnist Steve Lopez joined the staff of The Los Angeles Times in May 2001 after four years at Time Inc., where he wrote for Time, Sports Illustrated, Life, and Entertainment Weekly.
Prior to Time Inc., Lopez was a columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, San Jose Mercury News, and The Oakland Tribune. His work has won numerous national awards for column writing and magazine reporting.
A California native, Lopez is the author of three novels and a book of non-fiction, The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music. The book is based on columns Lopez wrote for The Los Angeles Times about his friendship with a downtown Los Angeles musician.
Lopez is married and has two sons and a daughter.
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Speaking Topics
The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music
Steve Lopez talks about his four-year odyssey with American musician Nathaniel Ayers, and how a chance encounter turned into a book, and then a movie, about friendship, second chances, the power of human connections, and the healing power of music and art.
What I Learned About Retirement From Some Who’ve Done IT and Some Who Never Will
In this talk, Steve Lopez offers advice on decision making and how to find the next path in life. With his trademark poignancy, wisdom, and humor, Lopez establishes a useful polemic in planning ahead, as he also evaluates questions of identity, financial limitations, and ultimately what to do with your life when the obituary pages are no longer filled with strangers.
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Video
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Praise for Steve Lopez
He ended with a message of encouragement and hope. He left us all feeling more informed and empowered.
— Newport Beach Public Library FoundationSteve Lopez was a fantastic speaker for our library’s Community Read, informing and engaging our audience through the powerful story of his friendship with Nathaniel Ayers. We found him erudite yet approachable. Steve inspired us to look for ways to improve individual lives and address structural issues surrounding homelessness and mental illness despite the seemingly intractable natures.
— Tiffin-Seneca Public Library -
Books by Steve Lopez
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Media About Steve Lopez
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and Availability
- 212 572-2013
- Steve Lopez travels from Los Angeles, CA
Featured Title
The Soloist
"Many books claim to be about redemption and the affirmation of the human spirit, but they are false gospels. The Soloist is singularly and unforgettably true in all respects." – Buzz Bissinger, author of Friday Night Lights
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