The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music

Everything in Grohl’s life eventually comes full circle—sometimes by his own actions and sometimes by what seems like fate or divine intervention. This motif is strung throughout his memoir, making its way into each major anecdote, and serving as one of the book’s principal ideas. Grohl begins exploring the idea of the full circle in his very first chapter, where he recalls the day Harper asked him to teach her how to play drums. Grohl sees a mirror image of himself in Harper as he watches her pound the drums to one of his favorite AC/DC tracks. He believes that the passion for and tendency toward music is “something that comes from the inside out” (18), and marvels at the fact that he is introducing his own daughter to music just like his own mother did for him years before. Grohl grew up with a loving and supportive mother, but his parents divorced when he was young, and his father was largely absent or judgmental and harsh when he was present. Grohl reflects on this dichotomy that his parents instilled in him and knows that “[s]ome cycles are meant to be broken.