High Hopes: How Bruce Springsteen Saved My Life at 60

High Hopes: How Bruce Springsteen Saved My Life at 60

From No Shame On U by No Shame On U

September 19, 2025 · 48 min · Season 1 · Episode 59

About this episode

Anne Abel shares her transformative journey of following Bruce Springsteen on tour at 60, overcoming lifelong depression.

What do you do when depression has been your lifelong companion and the structure that kept you afloat suddenly disappears? For Anne Abel, the answer came from an unlikely source: Bruce Springsteen. In this powerful episode, we dive into Anne's incredible story from her new memoir "High Hopes." At 59, she'd never been to a concert. At 60, she was boarding a plane to Australia alone—something that terrified her—to follow The Boss across eight concerts in five cities over 26 days. After walking away from her teaching career due to increasing classroom violence, Anne faced a terrifying reality: without the structure of work, her severe recurrent depression could pull her into the abyss. She'd been hospitalized twice, endured three rounds of electroconvulsive therapy, and tried over 20 medications. But that night at her first Springsteen concert, something shifted. For three hours, his energy and humanity lifted her out of darkness in a way nothing else had. Join us as Anne shares how an impulsive decision to chase that feeling across Australia became a journey of unexpected transformation. This isn't just a story about music—it's about the courage to reinvent yourself when…

People in this episode

Host: No Shame On U

Guest: Anne Abel

Topics covered

  • depression
  • music
  • transformation
  • personal journey
  • hope
  • reinvention

Keywords

  • depression
  • Bruce Springsteen
  • concert
  • transformation
  • memoir
  • mental health
  • hope

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: High Hopes

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