Loved it! I have to read his other books now:

Not sure if it’s because I enjoyed my vacation to Newfoundland so much quite a few years ago or Doyle has a way with words. Either way I’m excited.

I listened to this book via audible and I think that’s the best way to experience it - in Alan Doyle’s own voice. It’s magnified story telling and really captures his life but also the era he grew up in.

Great memoir of the author's boyhood in Newfoundland, undertaken with the same combination of warmth, hometown pride, and self-deprecation that marks his stage presence. I felt like I had some sense of Petty Harbour before listening, but his vivid portraits of the town itself (divided by both river and religion) and its characters (ranging from the stoic to the incorrigible) brought the place and its spirit into sharp focus.

There are many funny moments, as when a young Alan seeks clarification about transubstantiation and his family members repeatedly give a pat answer followed by encouragement to "go run up and down the hill," and of course some mildly appalling boys-will-be-boys antics (he gives the impression that humans and animals [not counting fish, of course] come out largely unscathed from these experiences), but few dull moments.

The book barely touches on GBS—though there are allusions galore for alert fans—taking us right up to the first day Alan spent with Séan McCann. The ending was naturally a bit bittersweet, given the revelations of the last two years, but that only added poignancy to an otherwise lighthearted love letter to his hometown.

[I'm trying to get a bit less stingy with my five-star ratings, and this seemed as good a place as any to start.]

Another great memoir from Great Big Sea frontman Alan Doyle. This one focuses on growing in small town Newfoundland. I liked this almost as much as his second memoir, about the early days of GBS. My only complaint was that I found the organization of the book a big jarring at times with jumping back and forth in time. Doyle is a gifted story teller and listening to this as an audiobook in his Newfoundland accent made it even better.

A wonderful book about growing up in Newfoundland. Funny, easy to read, and thought provoking, this memoir brings us the years just before Great Big Sea and Alan Doyle became such a massive success. I really enjoyed reading this book and had difficulty putting it down. A must read!

I'm not a huge Great Big Sea fan, but I do enjoy the music. I also enjoy a good autobiography, one where you feel the author is sitting beside you, telling you about their life.

With this one you feel like you are sitting across the kitchen table from Alan, while he tells you stories from when he was younger. The book has real authentic flavour, it's well written and very fun to read. A real glimpse into the author's life.

As a ridiculously huge fan of Great Big Sea and Alan Doyle as a solo artist, I can honestly say that this book was wonderful! The stories included in this book run from his childhood until he starts with GBS and paints pictures so vivid you can almost smell the salty air. Suddenly all those songs I've been singing along to take on different meanings and I understand them so much better. This book is a fun easy read that I devoured during a night at work. For any Alan Doyle fan (or anyone who loves a good story in general) this is a must read!