It achieved New York Times: Number One Bestseller status for good reason; A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks is a refreshingly honest and articulate insight into the world of professional wrestling and the lifestyle that comes with it.  Long-time professional wrestler and current children’s books author Mick Foley documents his life and rise to fame in this, the first of his books; an autobiography that tells of how his childhood dreams started to become a reality in the form of driving hundreds of miles and sleeping in his car to make training sessions.

Benefitting massively from the fact that it is not ghost-written like the majority of autobiographies, Foley’s first book is a light-hearted romp through his funny, touching and utterly fascinating life.  Although it isn’t for the faint of heart, as Foley describes the brutality of his wrestling career in spectacular detail, the book is never morbid or grotesque;  Foley succeeds in capturing the violence of his career with an intelligence and humour never before seen in wrestling literature.

Although being more popularly known as Have A Nice Day, in reference to the catchphrase of Foley’s wrestling character Mankind of World Wrestling Entertainment fame (or WWF as it was known back then); the author makes it clear that he wanted the title of his book to be A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks.  For this reason I have always and will always call it so – in honour of a man who pursued his dream harder than any I’ve known.