RESTRUNG

A memoir of growing up, loss, and the expressive power of rock music.

Fogelson, whose writing has been published in The New York Times and The Washington Post, explores how music has helped him make sense of his life. The author grew up privileged on the Upper East Side of New York; his father, Jim, was a lawyer for a Park Avenue firm and was more involved in his work than his family. Fogelson’s mother, Phylis, was often yelling, either at his father for being absent or at his older brother, Rob, for slacking off school or breaking curfew. In middle school, the author’s best friend, Murphy, introduced him to “raw, ferocious, and loud” rock music, giving him the first three records by The Clash as a bar mitzvah present. The author’s aunt, Wendy, lived a nontraditional life and introduced him to Bob Dylan. These and other rock musicians, including Lou Reed, Bruce Springsteen, and Jerry Garcia, expressed complicated feelings he couldn’t articulate. When Fogelson was 19, during his sophomore year at Duke, his father was diagnosed with lung cancer and died during his senior year. The music of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam resonated with his anger and grief. A successful law career and a happy marriage to a woman named Jodi were shadowed by ongoing depression and imposter syndrome. Fogelson shared his love of music with his son, Jed, by singing to him at bedtime from the day he was brought home from the hospital. The nonchronological narrative is effectively tied together with the throughline of music. Wry comments, like those about teenage visits to Greenwich Village record stores (Fogelson recalls riding on the subway “hugging that precious Springsteen record the entire way to protect it from all those muggers I figured were jonesing for a perfect-quality Springsteen bootleg”) leaven the difficult chapters about loss and regret. A “Permissions” section at the end of the book is a bonus for those who want to delve further into the music and biographies cited in the book.

Readers, especially Gen Xers who turn to music for connection and expression, will savor this book.