In 1990, Scialfa gives birth to Evan James Springsteen, and this glorious and primal event rips away all Springsteen’s fears and pretentions. Despite the daily rituals—the sleepless nights, the dirty diapers, the vomit—he’s “exalted” by his new role and finds in his family a new compass by which to steer his life.

This chapter is an homage to his wife—part Italian, part Scots-Irish, the daughter of a self-made millionaire, and “queen of my heart” (370). A gifted songwriter in her own right, she auditions for the band in 1974, but their courtship doesn’t begin until many years later. She and Springsteen “circled around each other, cautiously and tangentially touching for eighteen years before connecting” (372). Her spirit and combativeness are precisely what Springsteen needs. Somehow, despite their mutual brokenness, they’ve found a way to make those broken pieces fit.

Now a wealthy man, Springsteen and Scialfa buy a “luxurious” (and secluded) home in Los Angeles. He’s unsure what his next project will be, however, and places the band on hiatus; he feels “burned out.” His relationship with some of his bandmates becomes strained—he feels they’re taking advantage of his magnanimity. As a result, he decides to try working with other musicians, a painful decision after so many years together.