I'll Just Be Five More Minutes - by Emily Farris (Paperback)

About the Book

"Despite being a published writer with a family, a gaggle of internet fans, and (most shockingly) a mortgage, Emily Farris could never get her sh*t together. To her, being bad at staying organized was just one of her many character flaws--that is, until she was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 35. Like many women and girls with undiagnosed ADHD, Emily spent her life internalizing criticisms about her lack of follow-through and carrying around a lot of shame as she tried to fit into a world designed for neurotypical brains. "I'll Just Be Five More Minutes" is a collection of honest, humorous, and sometimes heartbreaking personal essays about Emily's experiences as a woman with ADHD. Far more than simply classic ADHD stories about being too energetic at school or being called too scatterbrained, "I'll Just be Five More Minutes" is a portrait of modern American life in a neurodivergent brain. It's about complicated relationships with family and friends (including celebrity stalker). Feminism and a woman's right to control her own body. Sleeping too little and drinking too much. Starting a side hustle--and then starting another one (and another and another). Finding the love of your life and then fighting to keep him. And, of course, self-acceptance. These are the deeply relatable, possibly secondhand embarrassment-inducing, wide-ranging stories about not quite fitting into the world without understanding why--a feeling we can all relate to whether we're neurodivergent or not. An essay collection both entertaining and enlightening, "I'll Just Be Five More Minutes" is for people who have ADHD, for the people who know and love them, and for anyone looking for a good laugh as well as a good cry. But it's also more than that--it's a book on how to exist as a woman, a mom, and a person in this fast-paced, overwhelming world we (somewhat begrudgingly) call home"--

Book Synopsis

A hilariously-honest, heartwarming essay collection about life, love, and discovering you have ADHD at age 35

Despite being a published writer with a family, a gaggle of internet fans, and (most shockingly) a mortgage, Emily Farris could never get her sh*t together. As she saw it, disorganization was one of her countless character flaws--that is until she was diagnosed with ADHD at age 35. Like many girls who go undiagnosed, Emily grew up internalizing criticisms about her impulsivity and lack of follow-through. She held onto that shame as she tried (and often failed) to fit into a world designed for neurotypical brains.

I'll Just Be Five More Minutes is a personal essay collection of laugh-out-loud-funny, tear-jerking, and at times cringey true stories of Emily's experiences as a neurodivergent woman. With the newfound knowledge of her ADHD, Emily candidly reexamines her complicated relationships (including one with a celebrity stalker), her money problems, the years she spent unknowingly self-medicating, and her hyperfixations (two words: decorative baskets).

A memoir-in-essays both entertaining and enlightening, I'll Just Be Five More Minutes is for people with ADHD, as well as those who know and love them. This is a powerful collection of deeply relatable, wide-ranging stories about a woman's right to control her own body, about overwhelm and oversharing, about drinking too much and sleeping too little, and about being misunderstood by the people closest to you. At its heart, I'll Just Be Five More Minutes is about not quite fitting in and not really understanding why--something we've all felt whether we're neurodivergent or not.

Review Quotes

"[Farris's] sarcastic wit, good-natured self-deprecation, and honest introspection make for a fun and insightful read."--Library Journal

"[A] poignant, funny collection of essays" --The New York Post

"A smart and charming collection from an endearingly spiky new voice...which toggles between humor and poignancy á la Samantha Irby." --Kirkus

"[A] buoyant exploration of neurodivergence."--Publisher's Weekly

"Emily Farris has written a book that will stay with me forever: hilarious, insightful, and with a voice reminiscent of Davids Rakoff and Sedaris, Farris takes on what it means to have a neurodivergent brain in a neurotypical world, and how her discovery at age thirty-five that she had ADHD resulted in the pieces of her life suddenly clicking into place like the glass in a kaleidoscope. Completely relatable, wise, warm, and very funny. I loved it."--Elissa Altman, author of Motherland

"I am a lifelong flailer and noted scatterbrain, and Emily Farris's warm, wise, and very funny book not only makes me feel seen, but makes me wonder if maybe I shouldn't have sought help long ago. No matter how your brain works, this book will make you want to be her best friend."--Emily Flake, The New Yorker cartoonist

"Not only is this memoir witty, laugh-out-loud funny, enlightening, and brave, it also perfectly fits a reader who has ADHD. Short chapters, pithy sentences, fresh insights, nothing boring. Aimed at the largest undiagnosed group--adult women with ADHD--Farris tells her story in such an engagingly personal way that it appeals to everyone. It instructs by pleasing. Bravo Emily Farris!"--Edward Hallowell, M.D., author most recently of ADHD 2.0

"These essays feel like catching up with an old friend that I actually like listening to. If you enjoy my flavor of OCD you will have just as much fun at Emily's ADHD party."--Samantha Irby, New York Times bestselling author of Quietly Hostile and self-described idiot jokester

"Emily Farris's debut hits all the big topics: life, love, and yes, even lipstick. And yet these eminently readable essays go down smoother than the sweet pink wine cooler that young Emily might have thrown back before embarking on an ill-fated but hilarious adventure. I'll Just Be Five More Minutes is an unputdownable book that offers a frank, funny look at the highs and lows of life with a neurodivergent brain."--Amy Shearn, award-winning author of Unseen City, The Mermaid of Brooklyn, and other novels

"Funny, cringey, and oh, so relatable."--Jenny Lawson, New York Times Bestselling author of Broken and Furiously Happy

"I picked up I'll Just Be Five More Minutes intending to peek at the first few lines. Four hours later, I was still on the couch, intermittently laughing and nodding my head in recognition. This is an ignore-your-family, cancel-your-plans, stay-up-past-your-bedtime tale that reminds me of Samantha Irby, David Sedaris, and so many other favorite essayists. It's laugh-out-loud funny and strikingly smart, and Farris offers brilliant insight into the ADHD brain."--Joanna Rakoff, bestselling author of My Salinger Year

About the Author

Emily Farris is a writer and host of the Mother Mother podcast. In fifth grade, she won the DARE essay contest. Since then, she's written for The Cut, Bon Appetit, Epicurious, Architectural Digest, ELLE Decor, BuzzFeed, Lifehacker, What's Up Moms, Food52, The Daily Beast, and many more websites and publications you've actually heard of. Her first cookbook, Casserole Crazy was published in 2008, and she contributed to Charlotte Druckman's Women on Food anthology (2021) and the The Bust DIY Guide to Life (2011). Emily lives in Kansas City, MO with her burly husband, two young sons, rowdy rescue mutt, and three backyard chickens. You can find her online at thatemilyfarris.com and follow her on all the socials @thatemilyfarris.