Perfectly Broken

A novel of sex, dads, and rock & roll.


His rock star days may be behind him, but stay-at-home dad Grant Kelly's life is getting more interesting by the day. It's the beginning of the post 9/11 era, and he and his wife and four-year-old son have traded a New York City apartment for a Catskills farmhouse, where ghosts from the past, worries for the future, and temptations in the present converge to bring about drastic changes in their marriage, their friendships, and their family.


A gorgeously nuanced novel with unforgettable characters, PERFECTLY BROKEN is a story of human frailty, the endurance of the heart, and the power and possibility of forgiveness.


"Robert Burke Warren's sensory acumen and keen eye for detail – emotional and physical – make PERFECTLY BROKEN a wonderful ride. Fantastic, sharp dialogue and vivid characters, all in a distinctive, captivating voice. A stunning debut novel." 

– Rosanne Cash, multi-Grammy winner, author of New York Times Bestseller COMPOSED


"Whether writing about music, parenthood, or life in the sticks, every page crackles with been-there-done-that verisimilitude. At turns funny and suspenseful, heartwarming and heartbreaking, PERFECTLY BROKEN hits all the right notes, covering fame and fortune, love and death, success and failure, and fatherhood and marriage. A triumphant debut."

– Greg Olear, author of the Los Angeles Times bestseller FATHERMUCKER


"Parenthood, adultery, love, lust, ambition, loss, friendships gone to seed, a marriage at the turn of this century in full tilt midlife madness, with rock and roll in the bones and on the soundtrack. Warren creates a sensory world so sharply observed, the experience of reading becomes visceral. It pulled me in and I didn’t want to let go."

– Beverly Donofrio, author, New York Times bestseller RIDING IN CARS WITH BOYS