Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks Review
November 26, 2011
By Nigel Doughty
Every wrestling fan worth their salt knows who Mick Foley is. Not only is he a former WWE, hardcore and tag team champion, he is also a New York Times bestselling author. His first book, Have A Nice Day, was first published in 2000, and was really the first wrestling-related book to become a talking point in the mainstream.
It must first be pointed out that this book was not written by a ghost writer, like most autobiographies are, but was written by Mick himself on countless spiral notebooks, due to his technology phobia. However, it is also true that somebody transcribed this to a word processor, and subsequently made changes in the process, but all this was done with Mick’s approval.
What a lot of people don’t realise about Mick Foley is that he has had a long and storied career, much of which took place before he even got to the WWE (then WWF). Mick candidly re-tells all this tales as if they were yesterday.
It is very surprising how vivid Mick’s memory is, especially given how many chair shots to the head he has had over the years, and when reading this book, you can imagine yourself with him in the past, watching the events unfold.
The stories contained in this book are all true, as you would expect, and Mick has no need to exaggerate his claims, as the life he has led has been colourful enough. He recounts, again vividly, how he lost his ear in a match against Vader, and why he ‘smiled’ at the camera after THAT fall in a match against The Undertaker, and every story in his life, up until his first WWF title win.
Each story is told with fondness – even the heartbreaking stories of lost love are told to make the reader aware that these events are what shaped Mick as the man he is today. You will laugh, you will cry and you will enjoy every minute of this book.
Even after over 10 years, this book still stands the test of time. Superbly written and enjoyable to read, and these days it can be purchased for a very small sum. This is a must for any true wrestling fan.