The Soloist by Steve Lopez

The L.A. Times columnist writes a book based on his columns about his intervention with a mentally ill and musically talented homeless man:

And that would have been that, except the response to that first column outstripped anything Lopez had ever written. Offers flooded in from people who wanted to donate cellos and violins to the homeless musician. Lopez was roped into being a conduit for the donations, then into finding a place where Ayers could keep them, then into trying to find a place where Ayers could stay and possibly receive treatment.