We Came From Away: That Summer on "The Rock"

by Patricia J. Parsons

SHORT-LISTED FOR THE 2025 STEPHEN LEACOCK MEDAL FOR HUMOUR

A love letter to the island of Newfoundland, this enchanting and funny story could only have been written by a “come-from-away.”

On the island of Newfoundland at the edge of North America, if you’re not an islander, you’re a “come-from-away.” And if you were born here and left never to return, according to Nora Houlihan, who is about to turn one hundred, you’re the worst kind of CFA.

In celebration of her centenary, Nora has decreed that all her immediate family members—most of whom have deserted her and left her beloved Newfoundland—return to the island for her big day. But before they attend the party, she’s arranged for them to have a cross-island road trip in the hopes they will see what they’re missing and mend their wayward ways.
Her granddaughters Erica Flanagan and Eliza Cohen, feuding cousins, are both perplexed by the dictum but reluctantly agree to join their parents, Nora’s two children, and the rest of the cousins on the trip. Erica, a journalist who hails from Toronto and Eliza, a hardened New York cookbook author who left not only the country but converted from Catholicism to Judaism, are both less than impressed by the thoughts of hiking in Gros Morne, staying at roadside motels and eating codfish.

With the mysterious Gordie O’Brien as their tour guide, the Houlihan clan grudgingly embarks on the adventure of a lifetime, prying open their minds and, most of all, their hearts to breathtaking landscapes, friendly people and mouthwatering food. By the time they arrive in the city of St. John’s, they are ready to celebrate the one hundred years of the obstinate, tactless, enduringly obnoxious Nora. Or are they?

Before she lets them celebrate, Nora insists on a family meeting. Before she dies, Nora is intent on rattling a few family skeletons. By the time they emerge, the Houlihans will realize that they might have thought they knew their own family, but really, does anyone truly know their family?

Take a summer road trip across the island of Newfoundland, and your life will never be the same again.

376 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 2, 2024

About the author

PATRICIA J. PARSONS started her writing career as a freelance health and medical writer. Her almost three-decade academic career began accidentally when she stumbled into teaching writing and corporate communication strategy to undergrads, eventually establishing herself as an expert in communication ethics and strategy. Two of the textbooks she wrote during her academic career are still used today.

She is also the author of half a dozen nonfiction trade books. More recently, she defected to writing women's fiction, humour and the occasional mystery or thriller (female serial killers, anyone?). Her novel, We Came From Away, was short-listed for the 2025 Stephen Leacock Medal for Literary Humour, which was shocking since no one thinks she's remotely funny. Just ask her former students.

After spending most of her career in Halifax, Nova Scotia, she now lives in Toronto, where she writes and travels to exotic places so her characters can do the same.

Reviews

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed everything about this book! Families….they are all the same and all different! The question on the back of this book is If you could pick your family, would you pick this one? My answer is yes! 🤣
Happy reading 📖 📚🍷🐈

[Dawn Frail · Rating 5 out of 5]

We Came From Away is a perfect fit for a culinary travel fiction genre, if that exists! Fiction, because the reader follows a family who have been 'summoned' to travel together across the island of Newfoundland, from Corner Brook to St. John's, to celebrate their matriarch’s 100th birthday. Travel, because the reader ‘visits’ extraordinary places with historical significance, amazing scenery, and unforgettable people. The author is true to the spirit and essence of Newfoundlanders, who are friendly, fun-loving, and honest. They have a charming made-in-Newfoundland accent, and absolutely the best sayings in the world! Culinary, because one of the best ways to explore a new area is to taste your way through it! The author helps readers to imagine the taste and smell of unique dishes created in Newfoundland, where historically, the options for raw ingredients are limited - the land is 'a rock', summers are short, winters are long, and the cold Atlantic ocean is one of the few reliable sources of food.

If you're thinking about visiting Newfoundland, We Came From Away is a must-read. If you aren't, once you read the book, you're going to want to go!

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Newfie myself this was such a fun and wholesome novel! It had the right combination of humour, seriousness, character building and knowledge of Newfoundland as a whole. The descriptions of the landscapes were breathtaking, I could visualize them so clearly and I felt so homesick of wanting to just adventure around the island for the rest of my life. And the way Parsons describes the food, how it looks and tastes, I could taste the food in my mind and was missing that type of cooking (and Jam Jams are my favourite cookie!)
I would’ve loved to have experienced more time with Nora, I felt the ending was a little rushed but was still fantastic.
I loved everything came together, how the characters grew and what their outcomes all were, it was a satisfying conclusion, a wholesome novel with great life lessons, a definite must-read.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extended family takes a cross province tour of Newfoundland. They get to reconnect and learn of some family skeletons.
I enjoyed the descriptions of hiking Gros Morne National Park and boating on a land-locked fjord. We did those tours about 10 years ago. A great trip with our son, Kevin. There is more to see. The Vicking settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows is a place I would like to tour.