Born to Run: Biography

Springsteen opens his memoir with a glimpse into his formative years. Born to working-class parents, he’s an admittedly sensitive boy in a sometimes tough neighborhood. He has feelings of entitlement (because of his grandmother’s attention) and cultivates an early artistic sensibility. His foundational influences are the Catholic church and his family. Indoctrinated into the institutionalized rituals of Catholicism from an early age, he develops a conflicted relationship with religion, eventually separating the institution itself—under the nuns’ strict, sometimes abusive purview—from his faith, which he notes will always dwell within him.

His family is a diverse assortment of characters: a doting grandmother, a larger-than-life grandfather, a father with alcohol addiction, and a boisterous and buoyant mother. Through these varied influences, young Springsteen emerges as curious, petulant, and sometimes defiant—qualities that likely inform his songwriting.

Springsteen’s writing style in the book alternates between gritty and poetic, much like his music, which is known for paying homage to working-class Americans; Springsteen’s description of his youth is a window into his artistic soul, introducing the book’s theme of Authenticity in Life and Art. He credits his Italian side for his work ethic and value of love and family, and while his family struggles with their economic situation, it doesn’t dampen the optimism of his mother and sisters.