The Comeback Kid: the memoirs of Thomas L. Hay

by Thomas L. Hay

Follow an intriguing adventure filled with mystery and romance, with dark secrets revealed. A true, compelling and entertaining story based on the Author's actual life experiences.From Clinton, Missouri to countries around the Globe. From puppy love to a international playboy. From UFOs to abductions. A complete journey from innocence to competence.

257 pages, Paperback

First published November 2, 2011

About the author

Thomas L. Hay, raised in the Golden Valley of Clinton, Missouri. Graduate of the 1961 Senior High class. Retired from American/TWA and resides in Lake Waukomis, Missouri. He enjoys golfing, fishing, beating his wife in gin rummy, and singing Karaoke. He is married to Karen 'the love of his life' and 'the apple of his eye'. He also lives with some hyperactive squirrel's, too many irritating geese and a few cranky old catfish.

Reviews

[Thomas Hay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completed on:
02/01/2016
Review Rating:
5 stars!
Reviewed By Renee Taylor for Readers’ Favorite

The Comeback Kid: The Memoirs of Thomas L. Hay by Thomas Leonard Hay is an autobiography that chronicles a fun and interesting life worth looking into. The story starts in Thomas Leonard Hay's small town childhood in Clinton, Missouri in the 1950s. The story quickly moves through the Vietnam War and his time in the U.S. Navy. It takes readers to Saudi Arabia and teaches many interesting facts and lessons, like why one should never use dynamite in place of fireworks. There are lessons about golf, like why there are 18 rounds of golf and why we shout "Fore." There are lessons about geography, like why Navy men prefer the top bunk and why men from Saudi Arabia eat left handed. The book contains love story after love story, and is a fresh and honest look at the hearts Hay broke throughout his life, and the times that his own heart was broken. It is a funny, comical, and emotional ride about the many challenges he overcame in his life (hence the title). Many were situational, but unfortunately, some were inflicted by people close to him, including himself.

Some sections in The Comeback Kid included song lyrics, which was a nice way to draw the reader in. I especially liked reading the author's description of the 1970s. There were also some interesting hints of stories about alien abductions, which made the book mysterious and intriguing at the same time. It was charming and witty, but also bittersweet and sad. It was an adventure story, but also included romance and mystery and heartbreak. I read it very quickly and didn't want to put it down. I appreciated Hay's honesty regarding emotional topics that could have been hard to write about, but were shared openly and fairly, as if I wasn't just a reader, but the author's friend.

[BookzBookzBookz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story that is beyond imagination! When I read, I kept asking myself- had all of this really happened? I even emailed Hay with questions! The story is emotional, fantastic, hilarious and full of imagination. Written in a unique style that keeps readers guessing as well as hopeful, anyone who picks up this book will not put it down until it's completely finished! Check out The Comeback Kid: the memoirs of Thomas L. Hay and see what all the fuss is about!
[ARC receiver: My opinion is based on both books and in no way influenced by the receipt of the book.]

[Bob Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bookshops nowadays are filled with biographies written by so-called celebrities. The majority contain barely a chapter of genuine interest, and next to nothing of genuine achievement.
Thomas Hay is not a celebrity, and is probably little known outside his circle of friends and relatives. Unlike all those fame-addicts and magazine-fillers, however, he has lived a life which is worth recording for posterity.
At the outset he states that this record of his life is intended primarily for his family and his descendants, at the same time hoping that perhaps other readers might find his story intriguing.
Mr Hay takes us from his childhood in small town America through his active service in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, to his time spent in Saudi Arabia. En route we learn, for example, never to substitute dynamite for fireworks, why the top bunk in a Navy ship is highly preferable, and why Saudi Arabian men always eat with their left hand. As a Scot, I finally learnt why there are 18 holes in a round of golf, and why a golfer shouts "Fore!" when hitting near another golfer. (Clearly there are gaps in our Scottish educational system.)
It's not easy to write an honest, warts-and-all biography, particularly when some of it is to the detriment of the author. Thomas Hay is painfully honest about the hearts he has broken along the way, and of the times his own heart has been broken. He also writes about the many adversities he has had to overcome - some of them self inflicted. Hence the title of the book; The Comeback Kid.
Each chapter of his life is reflected in the lyrics of a particular song, which I thought was a nice touch.
Throughout the book there are tantalising hints of alien abduction, and I gather this is to be fleshed out in his follow-up novel, 'An Abduction Revelation'.
The Comeback Kid works well both as a biography, and as a record of the major events in recent American history and of the changes in American society throughout this time.
And yes, Tom, I really did find your story intriguing.

[Liz Gruder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thomas L. Hay’s “An Abduction Revelation” is a highly entertaining memoir. Hay describes being abducted as a teenager, then later during his first marriage and honeymoon. Since it’s a memoir, Hay relates growing up in Missouri with many warm and comic details. I grew curious as to when we’d return to the abduction information, but it turns out that much of the personal narrative have a rhyme and reason and later tie in with the abductions. There’s a particularly intriguing section with Hay falling in “forbidden” love with a Saudi Arabian woman -- his descriptions of living in Saudi and later, the love affair, are a compelling read on their own. But the abductions … yes, after he is recruited by NASA, the story takes a fantastic turn with explanations of abductions replete with time travel and more. I won’t spoil the gist of the abductions. You just have to read it for engaging material to rival the best sci-fi novels and question what life is really all about.

[Nancy Author · Rating 5 out of 5]

If any book should become a movie, this is one of them! Only one word to describe- Amazing