Why 'Theo of Golden' Has Touched Millions of Readers with Allen Levi and Oprah
7/21/202656 min
What began as a quietly self-published novel, Theo of Golden by Allen Levi, has become a literary phenomenon. First introduced in 2023 with no agent or marketing campaign the book built a devoted grassroots following through word of mouth. It eventually gained national attention, secured a bonafide publisher and become a #1 New York Times bestseller. In this conversation Oprah discusses with Allen Levi the tender, life-affirming story about a mysterious old man who arrives in the small town of Golden who transforms lives by gifting portraits to the locals and helping them feel seen. Allen reflects on what it means to live a life of love, to find hope and beauty in everyday life and to recognize the goodness in all of us. Fans of the novel, whose lives have been moved by this book, including country singer-songwriter Walker Hayes, record producer Claude Kelly and designer and TV host Tamara Day join the conversation.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsOprah Winfrey· Host0:00
Strangers would stop and ask me, "Hey, Oprah, have you read Theo of Golden? It's your kind of book." The book started off self-published by a first-time author with no publicity or a marketing campaign, to then topping the New York Times bestseller list.
Allen Levi· Guest0:17
There was no deadline, no editor, no writing coach, no publisher, no agent.
Oprah Winfrey· Host0:22
This is unbelievable.
Allen Levi· Guest0:23
I cried a lot as I wrote this book.
Oprah Winfrey· Host0:26
You did.
Allen Levi· Guest0:27
I fell in love with the characters because they all remind me of someone I actually know. This man could love lots of people unlike himself. I wonder if I could do the same thing.
Oprah Winfrey· Host0:37
That's exactly what happened to me.
Allen Levi· Guest0:38
Right? For anything to be good, truly good, there must be love in it. It's the truth.
Oprah Winfrey· Host0:42
That's right.
Allen Levi· Guest0:43
I think that if we accept that premise as a rule for life- Yeah ... we have to figure out, okay, what is love, and then how do we live it out? And I think that the novel for me, as I look at it now, was maybe an attempt on my part to answer those questions. What does it look like to live a life of love?
Oprah Winfrey· Host1:00
[upbeat music] Hi, everybody. I'm so glad to be here with you on The Oprah Podcast. Welcome to my front porch. So many people were telling me, so many people were telling me about this book, people I knew, people I didn't know. Strangers would stop and ask me, "Hey, Oprah, have you read Theo of Golden? It's your kind of book." And it turns out it actually is my kind of book. This book quietly became what The New York Times calls