Alistair McLeod grew up in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and shared similar backgrounds to the boy in “The Boat”. Nearly all his stories are set on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia where he spent most of his childhood and adulthood until he passed away. His parents were landowners of scottish descent migrated from the Island to Saskatchewan to seek work during the great depression . Not long after they returned to Cape breton and McLeod remained there ever since. “Working his way through college as a logger, miner and fisherman, Mr. MacLeod earned a teaching certificate from Nova Scotia Teachers College, followed by bachelor of arts and bachelor of education degrees from St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia”(Fox). In his later