Can I Have My Ball Back?, Richard Herring
Can I Have My Ball Back?, Richard Herring
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
Club: $13.99

Can I Have My Ball Back?
A memoir of masculinity, mortality and my right testicle from the British comedian

Author: Richard Herring

Narrator: Richard Herring

Unabridged: 8 hr 45 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/20/2022


Synopsis

This exclusive recording includes 4 audio extras that are unique to the audiobook, including interviews with Richard's wife Catie and oncologist Dr Sharma.

'Very funny, moving and heartwarming' BOB MORTIMER

'A bollockbuster!' ADAM BUXTON

If we are cowardly, we are told to grow some
If we're brave, we're said to have huge ones
If it's cold, they are liable to fall off - even if you're a brass monkey
If we're in trouble, someone will threaten to break them
If we have to work hard, we might very well bust them
If we're in somebody's thrall, then they've got us by them

About fifteen years ago, Richard Herring first took part in a campaign to encourage men to have a little (non-sexual) feel of their balls every now and again. But it was embarrassing and weird, and if there was something wrong, he didn't want to know about it.

Anyway, that kind of stuff only happens to other people, doesn't it?

At the start of 2021 Richard Herring was diagnosed with testicular cancer. For a man whose output includes a stand-up tour titled Talking Cock and who regularly interrogates our attitudes towards masculinity, it was a diagnosis that came with additional layers of complexity.

Telling Rich's personal story alongside an exploration of what defines masculinity and 'maleness' in society, Can I Have My Ball Back? is not your typical cancer memoir. Whether they're nuts, bollocks, gonads or family jewels; from the phrase 'grow some balls' to infamous WWII songs about Hitler; Rich unpicks the tangle of emotions around his own testing times.

About Richard Herring

Richard Herring has enjoyed phenomenal success as a writer and performer and is an innovator in the world of podcasts. Persistently placing in the Top 10 UK Comedy Podcast chart, Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast (RHLSTP) sees him interview top comedians in front of a live audience, with previous guests including Sir Michael Palin, Dawn French and Grayson Perry. He has written and appeared in a number of critically acclaimed plays, is a frequent guest on television panel shows, regularly tours as a stand-up comedian and was the winner of series 10 of Taskmaster. He's also won a House of Games Champion of Champions trophy. And it only took him four goes to win Pointless.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Roger on November 03, 2023

Funny and engaging, you would be hard pushed to find another book this informative about cancer, testicles and the ancient art of stone-clearing.......more

Goodreads review by BurritoChris on January 08, 2024

I think Richard Herring is legitimately funny, and the book really plays to his strengths. The amount of testicle research that has gone into this is very impressive.......more

Goodreads review by Lauren on August 08, 2023

It feels wrong to describe this book as an enjoyable read considering the subject matter but it was. It's an uplifting read that makes you stop and consider the fragility of life but also to appreciate the small things that often go unnoticed. Richard has got the mix of sadness and humour spot on, i......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer on December 18, 2022

I am giving this 5 stars on the basis that I woke my husband because I was shaking with laughter and I don't think I have laughed so hard at a book since Terry Pratchett was alive. And aside from that particular scatological snowman episode, a glorious send-up of the whole 'making memories' thing, i......more

Goodreads review by Jack on July 13, 2023

Funny and interesting. If you've ever wondered anything at all about testicles - and who hasn't etc. then the 'facts' sections will intrigue, horrify, and educate. The rest of it is Richard's memoir about his cancer experience, which isn't all 'ooh I could get a book out of this' but some of it is.......more