Bruce Springsteen Says Depression Recently Left Him ‘Crushed’

Bruce Springsteen details his long and ongoing struggle with depression in his upcoming autobiography, in which he reveals that the mood disorder recently left him “crushed.”

The 66-year-old rock icon delves into his battle with clinical depression—which he said was made worse by his rocky relationship with his late father—in his memoir, Born to Run, and a new interview with Vanity Fair. “I was crushed between 60 and 62, good for a year, and out again from 63 to 64,” Springsteen writes in his book, which will be released on Sept. 26. “Not a good record.”

The Born in the USA singer explained to Vanity Fair that he was afraid of being a reflection of his father, Doug, who he said was troubled and had suffered from a mental illness before his death in 1998. “You don’t know the illness’s parameters,” he explained to the magazine. “Can I get sick enough to where I become a lot more like my father than I thought I might?”

Springsteen also told Vanity Fair that the highs and lows of his life were all key in forming the man he is today. “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,” he said. “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?”