Bruce Springsteen's autobiography 'Born to Run' comes out at the end of this month, and the iconic musician has opened up about his battle with depression in an emotional new interview with Vanity Fair ahead of its publication.
The 66-year-old New Jersey native revealed his mental health struggles, including one dark period in recent years that had struck him from the ages of 60 to 64, saying ""One of the points I'm making in the book is that, whoever you've been and wherever you've been, it never leaves you. I always picture it as a car. All your selves are in it. And a new self can get in, but the old selves can't ever get out. The important thing is, who's got their hands on the wheel at any given moment?"
He also discussed his relationship with his late father, Doug, who also struggled with mental illness, revealing that his father had never said straight-up 'I love you'. "The best you could get was 'Love you, Pops.' 'Eh, me, too.'" he said. "Even after he had a stroke and he'd be crying, he'd still go, 'Me, too.' You'd hear his voice breaking up, but he couldn't get out the words."
Three years ago, he underwent surgery on his throat after experiencing 'chronic numbness' on his left side, which was having an impact on his guitar-playing. The operation involved "having his throat cut open and vocal cords temporarily tied off to the side" so that doctors could repair damage discs in his neck - an experience that was "a little nerve-wracking" and left him unable to sing for three months.
The full interview can be read here.
