Where I Belong: Small Town to Great Big Sea

Alan Doyle grew up to become lead singer of Great Big Sea. He grew up in a small town, just outside St. John’s, Newfoundland with 3 siblings and a very musical family; in fact, they were known as “The Doyles from Petty Harbour” and everyone knew they were musical. The book is told as a series of stories, and include stories of his family and friends, music, religion (Catholic vs. Protestant), fishing, and more.

I listened to the audio, read by Alan himself. I loved it! The accent and the phrases, and he’s so funny! I laughed out loud many times (people on transit probably stealing odd glances toward me?)! Oh, what a great storyteller! Listening to the audio, he actually played a recording of a brief conversation with his mom, show more and when there were lyrics in the text of the book, he sang them. Sigh…

I had a roommate/best friend in my 20s who was from Newfoundland (in fact, from The Goulds, near Petty Harbour, where Alan went to high school) – the accent and phrases and funny stories all made me think of her. He’s only a few years older than me and my friend, so I recognized many things/places that she talked about, as well. Oh, I even remember her mentioning the high school band he was in – I think she showed me a yearbook photo of them with the FA on the drums (for First Attempt).

I really don’t think people would need the personal (or in my case, secondary) references to enjoy this, though. I highly recommend the audio! show less

The Good Stuff

A wonderful and charming memoir of a talented (ok and handsome, totally had a crush on him for years -- till Fillion and Tennant came along) humble musician growing up in small town in Newfoundland. The man is a born storyteller, which for those who are fans of his work, will not be surprised.
Thoroughly enjoyed where Alan and his mother have a discussion on the recipe for her homemade bread. Reminds me of all the times I would ask my neighbor to write down her recipes, it never happened
His tales of the dinner table are so very similar to ones I heard from my husband
Don't get me started on the chapter about the family bathroom. I laughed so hard, I had tears running down my face.
As a fan of GBS, I never realized the show more Janie mentioned in Ordinary Day was Jann Arden. Interesting to hear how Ordinary Day came into being. Still one of my favorite songs by them, and like so many others, when I am having a crappy day that song always gets me out of my funk.
As a gal raised with very little religion (and in a bigger town, where I don't remember any kind of mentions of the difference between Catholics and Protestants) , I was fascinated by the religious divide between these two faiths (I know I'm a heathen, but to me they both believe in God -- so what's the problem here folks, thought God was about love and acceptance)
I felt very nostalgic when he talks about the kitchen parties. My fondest memories of my childhood are when my Dad's side of the family came over for a party. All the male members of the Porter clan have the most beautiful voices (unfortunately for me and my sister, we did not inherit this and we both sound like cats dying when we sing - never stopped me from singing along though) and we would hang out in the kitchen while my Uncles and Cousins strummed their guitars and sang. Guess that's why when I first heard a GBS song, it made me feel like I was home.
I appreciate and agree with his commentary on organized religions.
Felt like I was hanging out with a good friend telling stories of his youth. Sometimes the stories would make me laugh out loud and at other times made me cry and want to give him a hug.
Delightful glossary of terms
Book is even better if you read while listening to his solo album, Boy On Bridge

The Not So Good Stuff

Hoping he will write a second book, as I want to know more about life on the road with Great Big Sea
Spent days singing Ordinary Day - and trust me that was torture for so many people as I just can't sing worth a damn
Nooooo he's a Habs fan - why oh why ; ) Ah well, married to one of those, so I can let it go
Now having fantasies about this man singing to me -- hmmm new bucket list item. Have attractive man sing a song to me. Might have to let that one go
Have had a serious craving for homemade bread - ok lets post this review so I can try to make some (FYI - pals, don't drop by for a while, this could get messy)

Favorite Quotes/Passages



"This has always been my mother's pearl of wisdom, a single piece of advice she offers just about every time someone walks out the door or every time she ends a phone call. It's one of the most brilliant pieces of advice I've ever heard: Be good. Be good to people."



"We even got to play for a few dances in St. Paul's church basement, which meant playing for Protestant girls. And according to my grandmother, these girls were all scandalous whores who were on the pill, girls who were constantly having sex with just about everyone. You can imagine my disappointment when I discovered for myself that these gals were no more willing to make out with a guy like me than the Catholic gals at my own school."

"That's how parties went. That's what my folks did. People came over to our house, we sat around the kitchen or the piano and we sang songs. It wasn't a party unless someone was singing a song. We didn't have a big stereo or many records. Music was homemade."

"So, I restate my place in the world as a religious free agent with more questions than answers."

"Don't be afraid of tough guys. You need them and they need you. Let them have their moments in charge if it buys you order and civility where there might be madness.

4.75 Dewey's

I received a copy from Random House in exchange for an honest review. Also won a signed copy - which I will get him to personalize when I meet him next week at Chapters Chinook!!! And will try not to go all fan girl on him or beg him to sing me a song show less

I loved this book! I actually listened to the audiobook which I highly recommend so you can get the full effect of Alan's writing. This man is a natural storyteller and I could listen to him talk all day. I love hearing stories of small towns on the East Coast since that's where I'm from. It's always exciting to find the similarities between small communities and their way of living. I love how honest and humble Alan is and how proud he is of his roots. This book was very funny and very refreshing. Read it, you'll love it!

I loved this book! We are planning a trip to Newfoundland this summer and we are actually staying in Petty Harbour, so it was great reading a book written by one of my favourite performers who was born and raised there. Alan Doyle is a member of the band Great Big Sea, but he's still Alan Doyle from Petty Harbour. He grew up on Skinner's Hill, which is one of the highest hills in this little community, and he and his family (mother, father, brother and sister, and the old family dog called Pal), lived in a little house at the bottom of this hill. Skinner Hill was one of his favourite playgrounds while he was groiwing up. The book is funny, warm and totally Canadian, although Alan's grandfather never thought of himself as Canadian. He show more was a Newfoundlander to the core and wanted nothing to do with Canada. Alan's childhood was rough and tumble, but there was much love there and his family allowed him to grow up the way that he wnated to. He always wanted to play and sing, and his family was very musical, so he got a lot of support from his own family and numerous uncles and cousins. Alan is a storyteller in his music, and that talent is very much apparent in this book. He still considers himself a "Petty Harbour Dog." who realizes he was lucky to learn all his life lessons which he still follows to this day in a little town of 500 souls or so. The sea is all around the town, and it's through and through in Alan's writing. Without the mighty Altlantic Ocean, there would be no Alan Doyle from Petty Harbour. If you take the time to read this book, you will laugh out loud in many places, you will pick up some very colouful Newfoundland language and you will appreciate the rugged beauty of Canada's newest province. And, with any luck, you will fall in love with the beautiful music of Great Big Sea. show less

I had started this audiobook back in the spring and finally finished it. It is not to say it was a bad book, but rather, I have a very short attention span when it comes to audiobooks and absent of a long car-trip (like the one I just finished this week from DC to New Mexico), they just take a long time to finish or they fall to the wayside.

I bought this because I love Great Big Sea. Surprisingly, despite the subtitle of the book, Doyle doesn't really speak much of his life with GBS, though there are small vignettes scattered through. Instead, he focuses on his boyhood and youth in Petty Harbor. He has a New Foundland accent, and while at first, it was a little difficult to understand, I seen grew accustomed to it and really liked to show more hear his story in his own voice. Doyle's book showed a culture I had never before even knew existed. It was a harder life than I can imagine, but it sounded to be a full and happy life. And throughout it all, music played a huge part.

I hope he might write a second book one day, about his GBS years, but I'm happy if this book is it, because I enjoyed it. I loved learning about the boy on the bridge. show less

The book has a stunning presentation and really started out nicely. It was nostalgic and made me laugh and squirm in all the appropriate places. Around the last 3rd of the book my interest was dying off. I couldn't relate to all the specifics about making music, which made the chapters hard to read. I liked the book overall, but found the end a bit lackluster.

Where I Belong is a testament to the power of a sense of place. It is a love letter to Newfoundland from “Alan Doyle of Petty Harbour.” In Where I Belong, Doyle chronicles his adventures from being a cod-tongue cutting alter boy hanging out at the wharf in Petty Harbour, to being a religious free-agent and museum guide in St. John’s at the genesis of Great Big Sea. Throughout those years, he more than lived up to his mother’s send-off pronouncement; “be good.”

Coming from “the musical Doyle’s of Petty Harbour”, it is not surprising that he would become a successful musician, though throughout the book you come to realize that his success comes from not just his natural talent, but is due to his hard work, positive show more outlook, kindness towards others, and genuine good nature. What he attributes to a lucky break seems more like a recognition of these qualities by others.

Though the book ends where GBS starts, it will certainly appeal to fans of the band and Doyle’s solo work. It should also be required reading for all Canadians to better understand what it means to be a Newfoundlander. It is also a pretty good inducement to visit the “province that Canada joined in 1949.” show less