The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music

Dave Grohl is a musician, father, and husband, and wrote his memoir The Storyteller to commemorate some of the most pivotal experiences in his life. Grohl compiles his memories into a series of anecdotes that connect to one another through the underlying themes. He writes with a humorous tone unless discussing matters of death and grieving, and achieves a feeling of authenticity through use of jokes, self-deprecation, and pop culture references. Through raw depictions of life on the road, friendship, comradery, love, and loss, Grohl shows the ways in which he evolved from a risk-taking adolescent with dreams of stardom to a successful musician and family man. He also emphasizes the traits that have stuck with him his whole life, such as recklessness, humor, passion, and a devotion to those he cares about whether that be friends, bandmates, or his family.

Grohl’s memoir centers around the gifts music has to offer. Music is the force that inspires Grohl and propels his career and his passions: “It’s hard to put into words the belief that I have in music. To me, it is god. A divine mystery in whose power I will forever hold an unconditional trust” (304).