Tough Island

True Stories from Matinicus, Maine

By: Crash Barry

Narrated by: Crash Barry

Tough Island is a movie for your ears. Author Crash Barry’s evocative, gritty, and funny storytelling, authentic sound effects, and vocal dramatics create a soundscape that transports you to Maine’s most remote inhabited island. Crash narrates and voices the entire cast of memorable characters, including the salty Captain Donald and his insufferable wife, brawny fishermen, and other eccentric islanders.

Tough Island simultaneously chronicles the coming-of-age story of Crash, a 23 year-old wannabe poet living in a rustic fish shack, working as a sternman on a lobster boat. On Tough Island, he deals with love and loss, and is participant and witness to the debauchery and violence of youth. On Matinicus, 20 miles out to sea, population of 50, the ferry visited nine times a year, and airplanes only landed when there was no fog, rain, snow, sleet, or darkness.

Tough Island is a gritty guided tour of a unique society inhabited by resourceful individuals and scoundrels filled with stories of danger and drugs, sex and sorrow and death, all unfolding in a landscape of breathtaking beauty.

©2011, 2013 Crash Barry (P)2021 Crash Barry

Great memoir of remote Maine life in the 90s

This is the first audiobook I ever listened to and it was fantastic. I enjoyed the podcast and wanted to hear the audiobook because the author provided voices for the people depicted from his time in Tough Island. The book brought me back to the early 90s. The book describes how I imagined life in rural Maine to be 30 years ago.
I read a lot of autobiographies and enjoy the ones where the author includes the good and the bad. The author doesn’t hesitate to express regret or admit when he made mistakes which makes the book more believable.
This was the first book by Crash Barry I experienced and since I enjoyed it so much I will be checking out his other works.
Definitely recommend this book.

A real Different sort of story

This is a piece of Crash Berry's life and I remember reading, in other places, a couple of the incidents cited in the book. Imagine, if you can, a completely different experience and then, open this title and see if your imagination even comes close. Maine islands are thought of as tourist attractions but, really, people live and work there. This island is 20 miles off the coast; today, with internet, it isn't quite the same, but in 1991 the distance made a real difference; one had to be prepared for nearly anything. And thus, almost anything you can imagine might have happened on Tough Island. It's not just a fishing story and it's definitely not a fish story; real things with real people (not actors) are included in these well woven tales. Enjoy, it's worth the price!

A meticulous narration! Non-Stop Listening! 5X

Voiced in a meticulous narration, Lifetime writer and Film Director Crash Barry brings you "Tough Island". Taking you into the nitty gritty of Maine. This is an Audible you'll be playing every evening to get the next salty scoop. I hope you enjoy the story as much as we did. -Tyler

It’s pretty good…

Hometown hero Crash Barry did a top tier job on this recording, the story is great, he’s exactly who he is, and I can’t wait for his other two books to get the same treatment.

Thanks for the gift mate, it’s almost as good as the 8th you gave me in Monument Square when Maine legalized weed.

Radio theater par excellance!

Crash tells a wonderful story of life and love and Matinucus! A truly marvelous experience. thank you Crash! Best regards, Carl