By Tyler Davidson
By Tyler Davidson
A mutilated ear.
Concussions.
These are just a few of the “speed bumps” in the career of semi-retired professional wrestler Mick Foley, who also happens to be a New York Times Bestselling author. His third autobiography, entitled “The Hardcore Diaries,” is less of his own life story and more an insight into the insane world of professional wrestling.
Foley’s writing style is dynamic, juxtaposing creative metaphors with bizarre similes that only wrestling fans would understand in order to create a humorous blend that is unique without going over the top.
For the first time ever, Foley takes readers on a journey chronicling the entire life of a WWE storyline, from the initial pitch to the inevitable bumps in the road, to the loss of hope, and finally, to its execution.
Pro wrestling was officially “outed” as entertainment in the 1980s by CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, Vince McMahon, but never before has the industry been exposed in such a detailed fashion as it is in “The Hardcore Diaries.”
Over the course of several hundred pages, the audience experiences each and every emotion that Foley does.
His excitement at the outset is immeasurable, as he gleefully describes what he foresees happening over the next few months on WWE television.
However, just as this excitement brings you up, other chapters bring you down, with Foley writing painfully not only of the loss of hope as he sees his idea potentially being as butchered and twisted as he as been in the squared circle, but also of the dark side of life that he has seen in his travels.
Stories of children on the brink of death whose only wish was to meet a WWE superstar are touching, yet depressing reminders of our own mortality, told in such a way that it would tug on the heartstrings of even the harshest critics of professional wrestling.
As stated before, readers thinking this to just be an autobiography, looking for insight into the man that has been known by many names (including Mankind, Cactus Jack, and Dude Love), may be disappointed, as this book is just what its title infers; a diary.
Those who look to know more about this man should definitely look towards his two previous autobiographies, 1999’s “Have a Nice Day” and its 2001 follow-up, “Foley Is Good,” quality works in and of themselves.
One of Mick Foley’s proudest facts is that he personally writes all of his books by hand (his first autobiography, “Have A Nice Day,” was over 500 pages when it was published, taken from about 800 pages of written longhand) without the help of a ghost writer.
It is this kind of intensity and passion for writing that comes across when reading Foley’s work and readers will be hard pressed to put this book down once it’s started.
