TORONTO—The photos on the inside cover of Tie Domi’s “Shift Work” tell the book’s tale.
There are shots of family as well as stars like Mario Lemieux and Mark Wahlberg. But they are outnumbered by those showing Domi surrounded by firefighters, cabbies, police officers, construction workers and other everyday folk.
The former NHL tough guy values his real-life connections and what they stand for.
Domi, 46, said he turned down past requests to do a book because he didn’t want the focus to be on fighting. Instead he wanted to write a book dedicated to his late father, about positive life-lessons and old-school values like treating people how you want to be treated.
“If I was going to do a book, I wanted to make sure it was a book that I can actually put my name to and be proud of,” he said in an interview.
After 16 years, 1,118 games, and 3,753 penalty minutes in the National Hockey League, Domi had no shortage of hockey stories. He says he fought a record 333 times during his NHL career.
“Not that I’m proud of it, but it is what it is,” he writes.
But when he decided to say yes to a book, he promised only headlines from his childhood, career, and life after hockey.
There were other things he wanted to say.
