{"id":10862,"date":"2026-04-22T01:32:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T01:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/books-we-read\/?p=10862"},"modified":"2026-04-20T13:50:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T13:50:32","slug":"reading-springsteen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/books-we-read\/reading-springsteen\/","title":{"rendered":"Self-Respect and Hope: Reading Bruce Springsteen"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cover<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Bruce Springsteen, one of the greatest rock musicians of our time, has long earned his place among the greatest<\/span> songwriters in modern history. Countless articles, essays, and works of literary appreciation attest to this, just check QuickSearch<\/a> and you\u2019ll find more than enough evidence. His 2016 memoir, Born to run<\/em><\/a><\/span>, is a chance to not only revisit his achievements as a guitarist, singer, performer, and activist, but also an engaging and inspiring read for all generations a decade later.<\/p>\n

Memoirs and mental health<\/span><\/h4>\n

Memoirs<\/a><\/span> on my radar in connection with the Rutgers addiction studies collection usually intersect with alcohol or drugs. Shockingly, Springsteen didn\u2019t have his first drink until age 22. In his memoir, he explains clearly why he chose to abstain, for reasons that make perfect sense once you understand the family dynamics he witnessed and the personality he reveals: a person with a profound fear of losing control.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another timeless aspect of his story is his candid account of struggling with mental health:<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery meaningless thing became the subject of a world-shattering existential crisis filling me with an awful profound foreboding and sadness. All was lost.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet the book also traces his path forward: finding one\u2019s own way toward a meaningful life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to be a voice that reflected experience and the world I lived in,\u201d he writes, as a powerful summary of his personal mission. Fortunately for us, the already successful musician recognized early that rock music had become \u201ca culture shaper.\u201d Seeking impact and influence, he stopped performing for a period and focused entirely on writing the songs that would eventually define him as the Bruce Springsteen we know. Having achieved that goal, he has continued to use his platform for the greater good ever since.<\/p>\n

How did he do it? Springsteen\u2019s advice to aspiring songwriters is simple:<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst, you write for yourself\u2026 always, to make sense of experience and the world around you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Translated beyond songwriting: whether you\u2019re a welder or a barista, taking pride in your work can do wonders for your well-being and overall mental health. Never underestimate the power of a job well done, the sense of achievement that comes from knowing you gave it everything (think of the legendary length of his concerts). In our social-media-obsessed world, we tend to forget Ralph Waldo Emerson\u2019s wisdom: \u201cThe reward of a thing well done is to have done it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Springsteen\u2019s example proves that doing meaningful, high-quality work can be profoundly stabilizing.<\/p>\n

The evolving music industry<\/span><\/p>\n

Another aspect of his memoir that appeals across generations is the way it transports us into everyday life in New Jersey across several decades, where, for example, you might \u201cget hassled for the length of your hair by some polyester-laden mafia wannabe out Long Branch.\u201d His recollections also function as a living history of the American rock music industry. He readily admits that music is full of illusions: artists are always \u201ctricking\u201d the audience. As he pulls back the curtain, Springsteen reveals his own blend of talent, dedication, grit, and resilience, qualities sometimes lost in today\u2019s era of instant fame.<\/p>\n

\"Bundesarchiv<\/a>

Bruce Springsteen in East Berlin in 1988. Source: Bundesarchiv<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sounding almost anachronistic in the world of streaming and digitally mastered tracks, Springsteen takes us back to the time when music had to sound its very best on the radio, a tall order for any musician. His reflections on the power of DJs reminded me of a one-hour weekly show called “Teenager Party.” L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Cseke, who defected from communist Hungary, hosted the only program that played rock and jazz from the West between 1959 and 1992 while living a double life<\/a>. Broadcasted in Hungarian from Munich, Germany, on U.S. Congress\u2013funded Radio Free Europe, it aired only on shortwave and was strictly forbidden in Hungary, with imprisonment as a possible consequence of being caught listening. Yet that one hour gave hope to generations of young Hungarians behind the Iron Curtain.<\/p>\n

Hailing from Freehold, NJ, Springsteen understood the DJ\u2019s role intuitively; the DJ who made you wait for the song that you felt might change your life. Springsteen sang about dreaming \u201csomewhere in the swamps of New Jersey,\u201d unaware of young people behind the Iron Curtain dreaming about the West as presented by musicians, clinging to songs we believed were written for us, even when we didn\u2019t understand the language.<\/p>\n

Music as therapy<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I must admit I didn\u2019t know about Bruce Springsteen for quite some time\u2014not even about the often-misinterpreted \u201cBorn in the U.S.A.\u201d\u2014until his epic 1988 East Berlin concert, performed for 160,000 people just a year before the Berlin Wall fell. My excuse, growing up behind the Iron Curtain, goes only so far.<\/p>\n

His music truly reached me through the melancholy of \u201cStreets of Philadelphia,\u201d which was far more popular in Europe than in the U.S. Written for the 1993 film Philadelphia<\/em>,<\/a> the first major Hollywood movie addressing the HIV\/AIDS epidemic, the song radiates helplessness and loneliness, capturing the agony of those \u201cghosted\u201d by friends, family, and loved ones in the face of terminal illness. The line \u201cI can feel myself fading away\u201d resonates deeply with anyone confronting the fear of an impending or inevitable death.<\/p>\n

\u201cStreets of Philadelphia\u201d is tied closely to a disease that was incurable at the time. An HIV diagnosis today is no longer a death sentence. When I hear Springsteen sing it now, I can\u2019t help but think about the hope it may offer to patients today\u2014including Patti Scialfa, Springsteen\u2019s wife and fellow performer, who herself lives with a serious illness that will, hopefully, one day be curable.<\/p>\n

\"Man<\/a>

Artist Bruce Springsteen and his wife perform onstage during the Stand Up for Heroes special at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Nov. 5, 2014. (DOD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Daniel Hinton\/Released)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I am delighted to add Born to Run, <\/em>the author-narrated, 18-hour audiobook version, to my small but vivid collection of Springsteen memories: the East Berlin concert recorded off the defunct DDR TV channel (minus his introductory speech, of course), \u201cStreets of Philadelphia,\u201d and the annual Born to Run 8-Mile Race in Freehold, held the day after Thanksgiving (which I ran just to get the T\u2011shirt).<\/p>\n