My latest essay collection, Broken Biscuits and Other Male Failures, was published in the UK by HarperNorth on February 27th, 2025 in hardback, eBook and audiobook. It’ll be published in paperback on January 29th 2026. Here’s the blurb…
When it comes to the challenge of being a man, Adam Farrer always seems to find a way to fall short…
In his second collection of candid personal essays, he vividly recounts his struggles to live up to masculine expectations. From the calamity of his first serious relationship, an obsession with Prince that sees everyone questioning his sexuality, the repercussions of his adult circumcision and his doubts about his ability to survive the apocalypse to his morbid fear of physical combat and his brush with Satanic Panic in 1980s rural Suffolk, this is a book about growing up, trying to define yourself as a man but somehow always missing the mark.
Some reviews of the collection
‘Farrer’s distinctive voice is once again on display in this entertaining collection of autobiographical essays, which document his lifelong struggle to grow into societal expectations of manhood.’
Bookseller Editor’s Choice
'I love everything about these essays, from Adam’s willingness to be open about life, love, family and his nether regions, to his innate ability as a storyteller. Broken Biscuits made me laugh out loud and then properly cry in the space of a few paragraphs.'
Jennie Godfrey - author of The List of Suspicious Things
‘Writing with such intimacy and ease, Farrer has crafted a brilliant collection of essays, by turns tender, disarmingly honest and achingly funny. In Broken Biscuits’ exploration of contemporary masculinity, he is undoubtedly a singular voice.’
Tawseef Khan - author of Determination
‘It will make you cry with laughter.'
Miranda France - author of The Writing School
‘Adam writes like he knows me, the tiniest things he recalls uncover huge truths that resonate even now. I loved it.’
Justin Moorhouse - Comedian and Actor.
‘I honestly don’t think there’s another author who makes me laugh out loud so much and who can pull on the heart strings within a couple of sentences. Highly recommended read.’
Lucy Nichol/Roth - author of The 27 Club, Parklife and When Sally Killed Harry
‘A touching, searching, and warm memoir … funny and generous… Farrer finds the absurd among the pain and the warmth among the failure. He may feel he’s sometimes failed as a man, but this book is a success.’
Joseph Hunter - The Manchester Review
‘Rarely have I quite laughed with the involuntary compulsion and regularity that I have with Broken Biscuits…an openness that is refreshing, particularly on a number of intimate topics that we rarely hear men describe. There is real depth and reflection here too: a message in each chapter to sit with long after the book is closed… A must read in this cultural climate. You will laugh, you will think.’
Footnotes Books
‘Adam writes with such enviable candour, a big open heart and beautiful curiosity…immaculately structured and brilliantly paced, interweaving moments of hilarity with sadness.’
Ania Card, author of Above Us The Sea
‘Broken Biscuits is at times laugh out loud funny, it also deals with some serious subjects, including assault, addiction and suicide. As I was out walking, I found myself switching from snorting out loud to feeling emotional at some of Adam's stories, which were told with such great sensitivity. A genuinely fabulous, funny and real account of Adam's life, and I highly recommend it.’
Jules Swain, The Reading Paramedic
‘As soon as I began reading, I wanted to savour every story.… It's a powerful, entertaining read…hilarious, beautifully written, raw, open, honest, and discusses the male experience in such vivid detail. I haven't read anything like it.’
Elaine Frieman Herbert, author of Why We Met.
‘Essays about being a man and human had me laughing and misty eyed all in the same sitting. The willingness to be brutally honest is refreshing. It's like a Mike Birbiglia stand up routine -- so perceptive and articulate, but with heart.’
Goodreads Reader Review
‘So, so good. This book explores masculinity in all its reality and fragility, from childhood to becoming a father. It's a hugely generous book: the author shares experiences that are undoubtedly intimate and in some cases, painful… In a world that contains the toxic ideas of malehood and too many Andrew Tates, we need more people like Adam Farrer to present the reality of what it's like for the ordinary man. It's also very, very funny. The final essay about his relationship with his daughter is one of the most touching and unfeignedly beautiful pieces of writing that I've enjoyed in a long time. Highly recommended.’
Goodreads Reader Review
‘A wonderfully warm and funny book full of self deprecating humour and poignancy. Each chapter is an essay on acutely felt and perfectly observed moments and experiences in the author’s life… it is the minutiae and the painfully comic moments that will last with me’
Amazon Reader Review
‘Adam's stories of boyhood through to manhood are tinged with such vulnerability and sadness, painfully authentic, but he's also so funny you don't feel the need to tap out. The genuine laughs keep you going... Sensitive, heartfelt, and deeply relatable. Strong recommend.’
Goodreads Reader Review
‘He’s a lovely writer: supple, stylish and almost effortlessly witty…This is a splendid book, to be cherished by anyone with a funny bone. I loved it.’
Marcus Berkmann - Mail on Sunday
'These essays are brilliant, funny, occasionally wince-inducing, and incredibly moving. I loved Adam’s honesty and generosity.'
Sarah Brooks - author of The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands
‘Adam’s eye for the absurd is a delight, his candour about his own struggles utterly endearing. Threaded with his customary blend of melancholy and self-deprecating humour, these essays are a deep and courageous dive into what it feels like to be a man.'
Karen Powell - author of Fifteen Wild Decembers
‘…comforting and gentle, despite its heavy subject matter. Broken Biscuits, like a good batch of shortbread, keeps you coming back for more.’
Amy Stone - Northern Soul
‘This brilliant collection made me snort with laughter, nod my head in recognition and left me with a lump in my throat. A heartfelt and hilarious recommended read.’
Ruth Brookes - Booka Bookshop
‘Brilliantly written, deeply personal and exposingly raw exploration of [masculinity], and I cannot recommend it enough… Farrer’s writing is funny and moving in equal measure, and has left me with huge admiration for someone so willing to bare all in this way. There is a real balance in shedding light on the way men can struggle without denigrating the female experience, and the author has achieved this exceptionally well.’
Bookaholic Bex
‘‘Reads like a flamboyant yet perfectly balanced meal… Alan Bennett lovers - there is a new kid on the block.’
Sussi Smith - Stacking Water
‘brilliantly written and witty beyond belief… Farrer shows us men can be emotionally expressive, nurturing caregivers, and don't have to conform to certain standards of aesthetics or behaviour.’
Zara Leary - The Stray
‘In Broken Biscuits, Farrer expertly walks the tightrope between Adam and Everyman. Funny & moving essays, and funny and intimate!, on the events life throws at you; sex, love, fatherhood, dead sheep and holiday park beauty contests. Beautifully done.’
Drew Gummerson, author of Saltburn
‘This is both an hoot and an important read. In the inimitable voice we got to know in Adam's first book, Cold Fish Soup, this recounts tales that will entertain at the same time as it will make you think. It offers a rare male voice dealing honestly with difficult topics such as friendship and family, self-confidence and body image, mental health, love and sex. Highly recommended.’
Eva Aldea, author of Forced Swimming Test
‘Adam Farrer, a humble, explosively articulate man had a childhood and life similar to others yet beautifully unique. No one's family is perfect, but robustness and resilience is both learnt and a product of nature too. Broken biscuits asks the reader to enjoy, reflect, cry and laugh at the human condition from this unique position of commonality. Loved this. Will enjoy more than once.’
Goodreads Reader Review
‘This meandering memoir of manhood hits just the right balance between warmth and poignancy, without ever becoming overly sentimental. It goes beyond recounting tales and creating characters (though both are deftly managed) gently raising and probing ideas about who we are as individuals and as a society. A rewarding read that I’m sure will stay with me for a long time.’
Amazon Reader Review
‘A beautiful, warm, and funny exploration of what it means to grow up and live in the spaces carved out for men. The title really lays out the cookie cutter nature of much of what gender roles offer in our modern society and the book really emphasises the importance of recognising shapes and choosing which ones you want to conform to and which ones you need to break. Adam Farrer's writing is witty and genuine and gives you a kick right where you need it, but for the most part it just feels comforting and homely.’
Goodreads Reader Review