I am not going to lie, it's been a long, long time since I have read a book for pleasure. I read stuff at work all day, and then read through a lot of Internet stuff after work, and then some evenings I am reading through resumes. I think you get where I am going, reading for pleasure after reading all day every day isn't the top priority.
In November, I downloaded a Kindle Version of "Where I Belong" by Alan Doyle, one of my favorite Canadian singers, and the former lead singer of Great Big Sea, one of my favorite bands of all time. I thought it would be prudent to read this book because Alan Doyle was going to be the artist on the CP Holiday Train this year.
The CP Holiday train rolls through our little town every year. Typically my husband, who is a huge train fan, is working during the event. This year he was going to be home! We decided that we had to attend and that we would go to the event in Savona, BC and then jump in the car and drive to Ashcroft, about 30 minutes away.
The Savona show was amazing! Alan Doyle and the Beautiful Band started with a Christmas Tune, and then threw in a couple of Great Big Sea songs! I am pretty sure I was the only one in the crowd that knew the Great Big Sea songs. When the show was over, we jumped in the car and drove the 30 minutes to Ashcroft. We thought we would have tons of time to stop and grab a coffee, but we just made it at the same time as the train.
The Ashcroft show started out with one of the most beautiful renditions of Oh Holy Night by Corey Tettford. It was magical. The setlist for the Ashcroft show was much longer and different than the Savona show. One of my favorite East Coast Christmas Carols, "I'll Be There Christmas Eve" was on the setlist. I an 100% sure that not one other person knew this song. It brought me back to listening to this song at my grandparents during the Christmas season. The set had some amazing Great Big Sea tunes, a couple of traditional tunes and a couple of mainstream carols.
After seeing Mr. Doyle twice in one night, and to get to share the CP Holiday Train with my husband, and experiencing the magic of the train, I knew this was one of the highlights of my year! The next day I started down a deep spiral of Great Big Sea videos on YouTube! I also started finally broke into the book. I very quickly remembered why I didn't read for pleasure a lot, I just don't have time. I also remembered how much I like getting lost in a book.
"Where I Belong" starts out with a Boy standing on a bridge, contemplating his life in small-town Newfoundland. This book takes you through the early life of this boy, his strong family ties, his musical roots, his passion for hockey, and his antics around the fishing docks.
This book brought me back to growing up in a small house in a tiny community. Being brought up on homemade bread and gravy, and the love of his family, this boy would become a musical prodigy in his hometown and across the country.
Alan's stories of the antics of his buddies working on the dock cutting cod tounges were hilarious. I can vividly imagine him getting thrown into the water playing ball hockey. His longing to meet the girls from the Protestant side of the bridge, as all of the girls on the Catholic side were his cousins made me chuckle. This is a common plight of youngsters in small towns on the East Coast. I typically avoided any boys in my town because there was a pretty decent chance they were related to us somehow.
This story is written in a way that captures the audience and makes you want to come back for more. As an East Coaster displaced on the West Coast, it filled my hear with joy to read. I couldn't get enough of the book and knew I had to get Alan's next book so I could read it over the Chrismas season.
You need to get yourself a copy of this book!
5 Stars!
PS there is an affiliate link below if you want to purchase a copy on Amazon.
Jen
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