My Wayne Gretzky of Canadian music. This book made me smile ear to ear throughout, and laugh out loud at times.

I started it on the flight to see our Newfoundland friends, and thankfully we got to Petty Harbour before our flight home as well, to see Alan's hometown. :)

I highly recommend the audiobook for this one! Alan does an excellent job reading it, wouldn't mind listening to it again!

I am a huge Great Big Sea fan, and I did like learning more about Alan Doyle's life before joining the band. But he's so charismatic, I think I would have rather listened to him tell these stories than read them in a book. Maybe he should record the audio book version? Or maybe biographies/autobiographies aren't really my thing.

Really, really enjoyed this. More about a way of life than his sensibilities as an artist, but he wrote about his development. And quite funny in places as well. Having recently finished "Composed" by Roseanne Cash and finding it ok, but not great, I approached this one with a little hesitance. But I absolutely loved it. The only thing that stopped me from finishing it in one sitting, was that I started it late at night.

I found this book to be laugh-out-loud funny.

Doyle is talking about his growing up years in Newfoundland. It ends when he auditions with, and is accepted by, Sean McCann and they form Great Big Sea.

This is a slice of life about a part of Canada that a lot of people (including me) don't know much about. He writes fondly and candidly about growing up poor in his small village, which is separated into Catholic and Protestant sides. He grew up when the cod fishery was a vibrant, essential part of the economy and way of life in Newfoundland.

I particularly liked his sense of "place" that to me is the main theme of the book. And yes, I laughed out loud.

A Couple years ago I read his Newfoundlander in Canada about his time on tour, this book is a delightful compilation of stories of growing up in Petty Harbour ,Newfoundland. I love Alan Doyle and his stories .

I first "met" Alan Doyle when he appeared on the TV series Republic of Doyle.  When I heard his music, I began to look for him and the Great Big Sea on iTunes.  When I saw Alan's memoir posted in a Facebook book group that I belong to, I was immediately intrigued.  I was lucky enough to find it available in audiobook format at my library.  What an enjoyable read ... well, listen!

Alan has gift for song, as well as a gift for storytelling.  I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about his life and adventures growing up in Petty Harbor - a tiny fishing village on the eastern edge of a little island off the coast of Newfoundland.  The audiobook was especially rewarding with Alan narrating his own story and the added tidbits of music snippets and audio transcript that I would have missed with the printed version.

Enjoyed this book. Doyle is funny, engaging, and tells a good yarn about his small-town Newfoundland childhood. So jealous he is from such a musical family. Would recommend this to anyone who likes music, Newfoundland, Newfie jokes, or needs a Christmas book for those who do.

Really enjoyed Alan Doyle's memoir about his youth, about Newfoundland and about the beginnings of his musical career. Well worth reading if your a Great Big Sea fan and even if you're not. Reading it felt liking sitting down with him as he regaled you with stories over a pint, a similar feeling to listening to my own family tell me stories of their past. It's not sugar coated, but if feels sincere and real and shows how much he enjoyed his childhood, his home and his family and how they laid the foundation for his life. A story well worth telling.