The Held My Hand: how the Beatles saved my life

“Many of us can measure our lives during the 1960’s by the release dates of Beatles albums. Michael Mish’s memoir aligns his own coming of age with the Fab Four’s impact on music and social culture. It is rare to find a Beatles-related literary offering that transcends pure fandom - They Held My Hand does so, eloquently and engagingly.”

Laurence Juber - Lead Guitarist - WINGS


I suppose there were a few of us. Those of us whose teen-age 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.

1963-1970 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 8 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.