They Held My Hand

How the Beatles Saved My Life

I suppose there were a few of us. Those of us whose teenage years coincided exactly with the beginning and the end of the greatest rock group the world has ever known. We can look at each other with instant recognition. It’s a wordless understanding that runs deep.

The period from 1963 to 1970 was arguably one of the most dynamic periods for social change in the West. Some of us were either blessed or cursed to be teenagers during this eight-year period. Amid a hail storm of raging hormones and psychological uncertainty, I found that the Beatles were there to guide me through a personal upheaval that I wasn’t able to manage on my own. Their music and quirky media personae lent a steadiness to my teen years where there otherwise was none.

©2020 Michael Mish (P)2022 Michael Mish