Fahrenheit-182: A Memoir

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. What made this memoir different from other music memoirs?

2. How did Hoppus’s writing style either enhance or take away from the reading experience?

3. What did you like most about the memoir? Did anything about this memoir make you want to put it down?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Describe your experience of the emotional arc of the memoir.

2. Did Hoppus’s resilience and strength remind you of anyone you know?

3. How has your search for belonging evolved over time, such as in adolescence as compared to adulthood?

4. What is your driving force or passion in life, and how does it motivate you?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Why is music such a powerful force for creating a sense of community? Why might this be more important now than ever in relation to The Search for Belonging?

2. How have peoples’ attitudes toward punk music changed since the 1990s? What place does punk have in today’s world?

3. In what ways did blink-182’s music help a generation through countless major world events?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. How does Hoppus allow his sense of humor to shine through in his memoir, and why is this important?

2. How does the telling of blink-182’s story solely through Hoppus’s perspective affect the reliability of the narrative?

3. Discuss Hoppus’s decision to end his memoir with both the darkest and brightest moments of his life juxtaposed side by side.

4. What did the photographs add to the reading experience and the authenticity of the memoir?

5. How are figures like Tom Delonge and Travis Barker portrayed in Hoppus’s memoir? Does this align with how you envisioned them to be?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. If this book were written by Tom Delonge or Travis Barker instead, how might the story (and the reasons behind it) be different?

2. Choose a blink-182 song to represent each phase of Hoppus’s life.

3. What do you see for the future of Mark Hoppus and blink-182? What do you hope for?

4. If you could go back to the 1990s and meet blink-182 in their early days, what would you say to them?

5. Choose your favorite blink-182 music video and describe it in five words; allow the other members of the group to guess which video you’re referring to. The five words you choose cannot include the song lyrics.