Alison Provost

Wow - Incredible

Revisado: 12-26-16

I've been reading a lot of autobiographies lately, and I love most of them. But Born to Run makes many delightful others, with their typically straightforward and chronological tellings, read like See Spot Run. This book is so beautifully crafted and artfully delivered that at times it took my breath away. It is soulful. It is deep. Even spiritual. The prose is inspiring. Great story, yes, but so much more. There were passages I listened to multiple times because I wanted to make sure I truly "got" the full measure of what he was putting out there. The musings and conclusions from his careful self-analysis go deep enough to emerge universal, such that I found his stories applying to my life, underlining my own need to strive and reminding me why I do it. Yes, I'm a Jersey girl who grew up in precisely the right era to be a hard-core Springsteen fan, and so I am, but fandom isn't why I bought the audiobook. I bought it because of a talk I saw Mr. Springsteen deliver. When the E Street Band was being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (separate from Bruce and a number of years post his own induction), Springsteen's words packed a punch. Sure, the speech was sincere and heartfelt – after 40 years of working hard together, rising from obscurity to legend-status, having babies come along and band members pass away, it would be easy to write the standard "I-love-you-guys/you-really-deserve-this" speech and make it moving enough. And that's all the prime-time TV audience would be expecting. Instead, it was crystal clear that the speaker put a ton of thought into his words, on behalf of those he loved, and turned out a wholly different kind of art. We got to see previously unexposed traits: the introspective intellectual, the unapologetic leader, the CEO of his band and its business...all delivered in this seductive package of restrained passion and gentle humor. During that speech, I remember getting up from the couch, as if the words had compelled me to rise. I found myself walking toward the television. Maybe to hear better? No, there were ideas I wanted to latch on to; ideas about humanity, art, commerce. When I saw the book I thought that if he could give that terrific a speech, he'd probably write one hell of a book. And he did. As if the speech were a prequel, there is so much to take from the 16 or so hours of Born to Run audio. He is extremely generous and forthcoming, exposing the whys behind the what happened. He holds little back, sometimes to the point of shocking the reader. It's also a beautiful story of his enduring love for Patty, and what she, as a quiet heroine, has done to build them a beautiful life while helping her husband through some pretty tough challenges. Now that I've finished it, I can't understand why this artist I've always admired has surprised me so much. Hadn't my little brother and I spent hours deciphering cleverly veiled lyrics (is Bobby Jean about Little Stevie going out on his own)? Hadn't I spent years of my life at the piano, picking out Roy Bittan's beautiful notes one by one so that one day when the piano player got a flat tire on the way to the show (teenaged fantasies), there I'd be at the ready? And didn't I notice during all that time spent with the intricacies of the music how every richly layered opus rose to a level of perfected wholeness that set a new standard for artistry inside ass-kicking music? And wouldn't it take a really evolved soul that was brilliant, perfectionistic, and never-say-die committed to create all that? Yeah. Of course. But here's what I know now. it's one thing to get it in a song, and a whole other thing to get it in a book. Wow. Born to Run is truly a work of art, autobiography delivered as literature. Congratulations to him.

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Really enjoyed this memoir

Revisado: 10-11-16

My only wish is that Elizabeth read her own story in her "at home" voice instead of her newscaster voice. It would have felt more personal and vulnerable, which it deserved.

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It belongs in Oprah's Book Club

Revisado: 06-20-15

One of those true-life stories that reads like a novel. The life lessons Christina learned through her tragedy transformed her into a soulful being, which is how this life story (which peripherally ties to the Wolf of Wall Street movie) becomes inspirational. Among Christina's virtues, which I agree is a Carole Radziwill style, is her voice. At first I found it monotone, but realized later her tuneless opening was intentional, creating a stark/more realistic backdrop to the life of riches that should have been exciting. Her lilt develops as the book goes on, and it is probably the best reading of a book I have heard...she has a gorgeous, hypnotic voice. The book is a great story for anyone, but particularly for the successful, where it is easy at times to forget that the pursuit of business victories and the material rewards that result can mask the real lessons people are put on this earth to learn.

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Would give 10 stars if I could

Revisado: 09-08-13

There aren't words to describe how fabulous this piece of writing is, nor how incredibly Meryl Streep brings it to life. Hysterically funny but also thought-provoking.

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A Gem

Revisado: 08-27-12

Funny, insightful, light. Enjoyed it so much I re-listened to it in the car with my 19-year-old daughter, who now wants her own copy.

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