Author Anne Abel tells us how Bruce Springsteen's music and performances helped her fight depression
- Letters To You
- Sep 22
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 24
September 22, 2025
Anne Abel truly felt that she was at the end of her rope. She was in her sixties, and had been struggling with depression since she was a teenager. In her adulthood, she had attempted to battle depression by trying over twenty different antidepressants over two decades. "I’d been an inpatient at a psychiatric hospital twice," she writes in her book High Hopes: A Memoir, which will be published tomorrow, on Bruce Springsteen's 76th birthday. "I’d undergone three regimens of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). I’d also tried transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a treatment that sends magnetic currents through the skull. None of these modalities had ever given me any significant relief from my depression."
Eventually Anne decided on a radical "treatment plan" completely of her own devising. Having already discovered just a few years earlier how good, energized, and inspired a Bruce Springsteen concert could make her feel, she decided to travel alone to Australia for eight of the Springsteen shows performed there back in 2014. It wasn't just about feeling good and inspired, however. Anne also was trying to force herself to step out of all of her normal comfort and discomfort zones, establish a new sense of structure, and refocus on the writing career that she had long wanted to pursue.
Unbeknownst to Anne at the time, the hotels that her travel agent had booked for her time in Australia were also where Bruce Springsteen, his band, and his crew would be staying while on tour. As a result, Anne's book ends up offering, in addition to her own moving and empowering tale of battling depression with the power of music, some interesting behind-the-scenes glimpses of Springsteen's touring organization in action. The sections of her memoir that detail her unforeseen encounters with former Springsteen co-manager Barbara Carr, and Carr's husband, now-retired music-writer, E Street Radio personality, and Springsteen biographer Dave Marsh, are particularly heartwarming and humorous.
If you're a Springsteen fan who's ever struggled with depression and/or love(d) someone who has, we at Letters To You think this book will touch you deeply. You might sometimes find yourself quibbling, as we did, with small details like how long it took for one of Springsteen's 2012 Philly concerts (Abel's first Bruce show) to begin, but Abel is always right on the money whenever it comes to what's most important: the immense impact that music, especially Bruce Springsteen's music, can have in helping those of us who are experiencing mental-health crises.
Letters To You editor/publisher Shawn Poole recently recorded an extensive and enjoyable conversation with Anne Abel about her book and her experiences. Click below to listen on either or both of our SoundCloud and YouTube platforms:
Click this link for Anne Abel's website, to learn more about High Hopes: A Memoir, and how you can purchase your copy.