All Together Now: A Newfoundlander's Light Tales for Heavy Times

In his latest book, Alan Doyle - front man for the (now retired) Canadian folk-rock band Great Big Sea and a natural born storyteller - shares personal anecdotes, funny mishaps, and beautiful descriptions of his home province of Newfoundland to help himself and his readers get through the Covid Blues. 

I highly recommend listening to the audiobook for this collection of stories because Doyle's narration was the extra stuffing on the proverbial Newfoundland Fries. I absolutely loved it. His self-deprecating humour, heart, and humility (and his delightful Newfoundland accent!) make this audiobook feel like a downhome get-together in the local pub with Doyle spinning lighthearted tales. These tales include growing up in small town Petty Harbour, touring with his band GBS, hilarious missteps, friends, and eccentric family members. 

Doyle should consider himself an ambassador of The Rock. As I was listening to him describe his trip circumnavigating his province, I had Google maps open on my phone so I could mark down the places I need to visit on our post-Covid trip to Newfoundland. He embodies the easy-going Canadian spirit and his love for his family, music and province is clear. Alan is a guy I'd love to have a chat and a beer with. 'Nuff said.

Whether you're Canadian or just wish you were, this is a fun book that feels like a friendly sit down with a good 'ol Canadian lad. All Together Now is the comfort read that will lift your spirits during these difficult times. You don't have to be a Newfoundlander to enjoy this book but by the end, you'll probably wish that you called Newfoundland home. 

My Rating: 5 stars

Author: Alan Doyle

Genre: Memoir, Canadian

Type and Source: unabridged eAudiobook from public library

Run Time: 4 hours, 11 minutes

Narrator: Alan Doyle

Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio

First Published: November 23, 2020

Book Description from GoodReads: One of Newfoundland's funniest and most beloved storytellers offers his cure for the Covid blues.

Is there a more sociable province than Newfoundland and Labrador? Or anywhere in Canada with a greater reputation for coming to the rescue of those in need?

At this time of Covid, singer, songwriter and bestselling author Alan Doyle is feeling everyone's pain. Off the road and spending more days at home than he has since he was a child hawking cod tongues on the wharfs of Petty Harbour, he misses the crowds and companionship of performing across the country and beyond. But most of all he misses the cheery clamour of pubs in his hometown, where one yarn follows another so quickly "you have to be as ready as an Olympian at the start line to get your tale in before someone is well into theirs already." We're all experiencing our own version of that deprivation, and Alan, one of Newfoundland's finest storytellers, wants to offer a little balm.

All Together Now is a gathering in book form--a virtual Newfoundland pub. There are adventures in foreign lands, including an apparently filthy singalong in Polish (well, he would have sung along if he'd understood the language), a real-life ghost story involving an elderly neighbour, a red convertible and a clown horn, a potted history of his social drinking, and heartwarming reminiscences from another past world, childhood--all designed to put a smile on the faces of the isolated-addled.

Alan Doyle has never been in better form--nor more welcome. As he says about this troubling time: "We get through it. We do what has to be done. Then, we celebrate. With the best of them."