Growing up in the 1980s, my preferred music choices ran the gamut across many genres, including pop, rock, new wave and even disco. But as a Jersey Girl, there is an obvious standout who captured my deep respect and admiration: New Jersey’s own Bruce Springsteen. His songs, his voice, his lyrics! All spoke directly to me, with their references to the Jersey Shore, “the swamps of Jersey,” Atlantic City, fast cars, teenage angst – I could go on and on. Listening to Greetings from Asbury Park NJ, The River or Born to Run over and over was a rite of passage and a comforting escape when the pressures of being a teenager were overwhelming.
That feeling has continued throughout my life. In my late 30s, I lived with my family in England, and while I loved it there, there were definitely times I got homesick. On one of these occasions, I was waiting in the car to pick up my son from preschool and felt the need to blast Bruce on my CD player (from The Essential Bruce Springsteen). It was SO therapeutic!!! And every Christmas, it is not the holiday season for me until I hear his iconic version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”. I mean, he references both the beach AND the boardwalk! Yes Bruce, I hear you loud and clear. I’m all in!
Music tends to have a therapeutic, calming effect, recalling memories of a specific time period, place or even a person (or people). Books can provide the same nostalgic solace. Throughout my life there have been certain books that I have turned to over and over. Unsurprisingly, many of these are children’s and young adult books. Returning to books from my childhood is both sentimental and refreshing at the same time. It allows me to revisit beloved characters, locations and themes from a new, more mature perspective, sparking fresh thoughts, realizations and insight. These include the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Judy Blume’s books and Island of the Blue Dolphins. All of these were so impactful to me that I wanted to share them with my own children. Some were even on banned book reading lists, which served as a helpful parenting tool.
Then as I got older and moved into other genres, this feeling of revisiting favorite books and authors continued. My regular rotation has included Stephen King, Larry McMurtry and Michael Crichton to name a few. If I wanted to be scared, I knew I could rely on Stephen King; if I wanted to visit the old west, Larry McMurtry’s westerns took me there, and if I wanted to get lost in some innovative new science or technology, Michael Crichton fit the bill. I discovered all of them in my 20s and rereading them or picking up a new book they wrote still brings me right back to this time in my life of optimism and opportunities – when the horizon was wide open.
Thank you Bruce and thank you to all the writers I have loved and returned to!
Do you have a favorite book or author that waxes nostalgic for you?
For more on Bruce Springsteen read:
- Shades of Springsteen : Politics, Love, Sports, and Masculinity by John Massaro – Massaro reflects on his experiences as a lifelong fan of The Boss and one of the first professors to design a college course on Springsteen’s work.
- Born to Run – his 2016 autobiography, which sheds light on the origin and emotional life of New Jersey’s most beloved singer-songwriter.
- Self-Respect and Hope: Reading Bruce Springsteen – a post about reading his autobiography for mental health, with quotes and lots of resources related to Springsteen