The Ghost of Tom Joad guitar work and the lyrics on many of the tracks are a somber reflection of life in the mid-1990s in America and Mexico. The character of Tom Joad entered the American consciousness in John Steinbeck’s 1939 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "The Grapes of Wrath", set against the economic hardships of the Great Depression. This spawned a film version starring Henry Fonda, which in turn inspired folk singer Woody Guthrie to pen "The Ballad of Tom Joad". The album's release was followed by Springsteen's solo acoustic Ghost of Tom Joad Tour, which ran from 1995 to 1997 and consisted of mostly small
A Friend of the Family kid in Alec, and in general critics admired Grodstein's skill as a storyteller. Besides a few negative comments, the rest of the book was adored by most readers. Patty Rhule writes, "A Friend of the Family beautifully captures parents who will take any step to ensure their children's lives are easier or better". Some reviewers believed that the novel would be a good piece for a book club, because it would spark good discussion. Swapna Krishna says that the large numbers of problems going on in the novel would be interesting to talk about in a group. Grodstein's writing was