We Take Care of Our Own

JUNE SKINNER SAWYERS was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and has written and lectured extensively on Bruce Springsteen. Her Springsteen books include Racing in the Street: The Bruce Springsteen Reader, Tougher than the Rest: 100 Best Bruce Springsteen Songs, and, with Jonathan D. Cohen, Long Walk Home: Reflections on Bruce Springsteen (Rutgers University Press, 2019). Her other books include Celtic Music, Read the Beatles, 10 Songs That Changed the World, Cabaret FAQ, and Bob Dylan’s New York. Her work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the TLS, among other publications. In addition, she in an associate producer of Voices over the Water, a documentary on the Scottish diaspora. ANDRE DUBUS III is the author of The Cage Keeper and Other Stories, Bluesman, and the New York Times bestsellers House of Sand and Fog, The Garden of Last Days, and the memoir Townie, a #4 New York Times bestseller and a New York Times "Editors Choice."

"Insightful. . . . Going beyond the stereotype of Springsteen as chronicler of the white everyman, Sawyers examines his focus on social issues like AIDS and the Iraq War and provides an intriguing analysis of how his Catholic roots intersect with his political consciousness. . . . It's a dynamic portrait of the complicated political and social influences of a rock legend." (Publishers Weekly) "Springsteen authority Sawyers explores how Catholicism and an evolving political philosophy informed the art of this central figure in American popular culture. . . . Sawyers defines Springsteen's body of work as one that celebrates humanity." (Booklist) “Sawyers covers a remarkable amount of ground in a compact space, which will make for a resonant book and a piece of cultural criticism that looks at Springsteen’s work through a series of lenses, some of them unexpected, to help us understand the American experience in a new light.” - Jim Cullen (author of Born in the U.S.A. Bruce Springsteen in American Life, 3rd edition, Revised and Expanded) "We Take Care of Our Own is a great read, an important addition to the Springsteen canon, and a serious look at the historical context of Springsteen's work in both American literature and visual art." - Mary Gauthier (author of Saved by a Song: The Art and Healing Power of Songwriting) “Sawyers maps some of the most important issues at stake in Bruce Springsteen’s music, especially his twenty-first-century work. By drawing on recent interviews and writing, she brings a fresh perspective to his story.”- Lauren Onkey (professor of music, George Washington University) "Wonderfully insightful and important exploration of one of our country's most essential artists." - Andre Dubus III

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: In the Shadow of Plenty1 Workingman2 A Sense of Place3 Chapter and Verse4 The Good Book5 The Populist Imperative6 Hope and Dreams7 Left Behind8 An Absence of Things9 Jersey Cowboys10 Tomorrows and YesterdaysCoda: Far Beyond TodayAfterword by Andre Dubus IIINotesSelect BibliographyIllustrationsIndex