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Trying: A Loving Guide to Navigating the Emotions of Infertility and Loss
Not yet published
Expected 16 Jun 26A compassionate, beautifully illustrated guide to navigating the emotional maelstrom of infertility and infant loss—designed for the busy, drained, and courageous
After the confirmation of pregnancy, a woman receives recommendations and resources for the journey she is about to begin. After a diagnosis of unexplained infertility, miscarriage, or a failed fertility round, a woman might receive additional suggestions for medical intervention. But what she rarely, if ever, receives are any tools to help her cope with what she is experiencing. Enter Trying, an illustrated guide that’s like a life raft on the sea of your infertility journey.
The condition of “trying” is a hard and harrowing journey in which people can experience loss, grief, shame, and confusion. Often quietly. A Loving Guide to Navigating the Emotions of Infertility and Loss holds space for the grief and pain while also offering love, support, stories, and practical strategies from people who have been there before. Whether you are still trying, have stopped trying, are considering adoption or surrogacy, or are anywhere in between, there’s a story here for you. Accompanied by stunning illustrations that make the advice easy to digest, this bite-size companion will empower you to keep braving wind-tossed seas. Wherever your journey leads, you are seen, you are heard, and you are not alone.
After the confirmation of pregnancy, a woman receives recommendations and resources for the journey she is about to begin. After a diagnosis of unexplained infertility, miscarriage, or a failed fertility round, a woman might receive additional suggestions for medical intervention. But what she rarely, if ever, receives are any tools to help her cope with what she is experiencing. Enter Trying, an illustrated guide that’s like a life raft on the sea of your infertility journey.
The condition of “trying” is a hard and harrowing journey in which people can experience loss, grief, shame, and confusion. Often quietly. A Loving Guide to Navigating the Emotions of Infertility and Loss holds space for the grief and pain while also offering love, support, stories, and practical strategies from people who have been there before. Whether you are still trying, have stopped trying, are considering adoption or surrogacy, or are anywhere in between, there’s a story here for you. Accompanied by stunning illustrations that make the advice easy to digest, this bite-size companion will empower you to keep braving wind-tossed seas. Wherever your journey leads, you are seen, you are heard, and you are not alone.
220 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication June 16, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A supremely useful and successful guide, is my guess, for this look at what happens when the stork fails to deliver. Failed pregnancy, miscarriage, IVF programme after IVF programme – the imagery here is generally water-based, of the woman not waving but drowning, or the wannabe parent on a boat of waiting-for-it, only seeing friends and colleagues board, come to term and get straight off.
This, with the help of the author's own experiences, guides us through all the issues of the matter. This is a grief that is seldom talked about, and one that – when it doesn't happen, when the baby is born or handed over – brings by contrast a huge amount of joy. So the friends with the wrong things to say or the bad idea when it comes to advice are going to be very rocky stepping stones in getting you across this river. And too often you won't be your own best friend, either, with the "why me?" questioning and the worry, and the self-pressure with the ovulation windows, etc etc.
To some this will be a less than ideal book. It does like to factor in its design, but luckily doesn't seem to do that to the detriment of its advice and information. But it is a bit of a melange – an authorial statement here, an artfully arrayed quote here, a reportage from a questionnaire-filler-in there. It's not always obvious where the chapters start, if you don't go back to the contents page.
But it wants to be a best friend in these circumstances and not a lecturer. I am sure it does talk – and I am sure very successfully – to many women who have wanted a child, and not gained such through infertility, chromosomal abnormality or late-term still-birth. It is informational, and a very balanced self-help, that I am sure many will be most unfortunate to return to copiously. Knowing no alternative book and not seeing – from a non-breeder, layman's position – any fault on these pages, it gets five stars.
This, with the help of the author's own experiences, guides us through all the issues of the matter. This is a grief that is seldom talked about, and one that – when it doesn't happen, when the baby is born or handed over – brings by contrast a huge amount of joy. So the friends with the wrong things to say or the bad idea when it comes to advice are going to be very rocky stepping stones in getting you across this river. And too often you won't be your own best friend, either, with the "why me?" questioning and the worry, and the self-pressure with the ovulation windows, etc etc.
To some this will be a less than ideal book. It does like to factor in its design, but luckily doesn't seem to do that to the detriment of its advice and information. But it is a bit of a melange – an authorial statement here, an artfully arrayed quote here, a reportage from a questionnaire-filler-in there. It's not always obvious where the chapters start, if you don't go back to the contents page.
But it wants to be a best friend in these circumstances and not a lecturer. I am sure it does talk – and I am sure very successfully – to many women who have wanted a child, and not gained such through infertility, chromosomal abnormality or late-term still-birth. It is informational, and a very balanced self-help, that I am sure many will be most unfortunate to return to copiously. Knowing no alternative book and not seeing – from a non-breeder, layman's position – any fault on these pages, it gets five stars.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
4.75 stars rounded up
This book felt like a warm hug from a supportive friend 💗 I loved that they mark chapters that detail loss so you can skip if needed. Also loved that this isn’t a "how to get pregnant and here’s all the crazy shit we tried" but focused solely on the emotional side of this journey. I felt seen and understood, having stories from other people voicing exactly what I couldn’t put into words was healing.
I also loved the illustrations and use of colors to convey their messages. It was also a plus to see some queer representation as our community isn’t always given a voice in fertility books!
Everyone’s journey is different so I didn’t agree with all of the advice or find all of it helpful, and that’s okay! I did still find it overall helpful and nourishing for the soul 💗
This is one of the few books I’ll reference back to when I need it AND that I would feel comfortable gifting to others. A sorely needed guide to the emotional process without offering a magic fix or toxic positivity 🥹
Thank you to NetGalley and Familius for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
TW/CW: infertility, stillbirth, miscarriage
This book felt like a warm hug from a supportive friend 💗 I loved that they mark chapters that detail loss so you can skip if needed. Also loved that this isn’t a "how to get pregnant and here’s all the crazy shit we tried" but focused solely on the emotional side of this journey. I felt seen and understood, having stories from other people voicing exactly what I couldn’t put into words was healing.
I also loved the illustrations and use of colors to convey their messages. It was also a plus to see some queer representation as our community isn’t always given a voice in fertility books!
Everyone’s journey is different so I didn’t agree with all of the advice or find all of it helpful, and that’s okay! I did still find it overall helpful and nourishing for the soul 💗
This is one of the few books I’ll reference back to when I need it AND that I would feel comfortable gifting to others. A sorely needed guide to the emotional process without offering a magic fix or toxic positivity 🥹
Thank you to NetGalley and Familius for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
TW/CW: infertility, stillbirth, miscarriage
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Before I got my now 5 years old son, I had to wait for almost 5 years and 1 miscarriage. This book is so relatable with me. Reading this book brought out the memories of when I doubt myself of not getting pregnant and blamed myself when I had miscarriage. Though now I have my son, reading this book was like opening the old wounds.
I nodded along when parts of the book were so relatable. I cried when I read other mothers' stories. I cried for them and for myself too.
I almost never reading self-help book(s), but for me this book is not only self-help book. This book is more than that. I wish I already read this book when I went through waiting for pregnancy and when I had miscarriage. I bet this book would be like a warm blanket that could easily support me and make me not feeling alone.
Very moving, motivational, and uplifting book.
Thank you to Liz Swenson, Alessa Martin, Familius, and NetGalley for the ARC.
I nodded along when parts of the book were so relatable. I cried when I read other mothers' stories. I cried for them and for myself too.
I almost never reading self-help book(s), but for me this book is not only self-help book. This book is more than that. I wish I already read this book when I went through waiting for pregnancy and when I had miscarriage. I bet this book would be like a warm blanket that could easily support me and make me not feeling alone.
Very moving, motivational, and uplifting book.
Thank you to Liz Swenson, Alessa Martin, Familius, and NetGalley for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is an incredibly comforting book in the isolating world of infertility. I loved that it didn't have medical advice or "fertility tips". Sometimes when you're going through something like this, you just consume all the information you can and it just gets exhausting. This felt like a breath of fresh air. It read like a best friend was writing to you. The artwork was beautiful. The advice was helpful and not pushy. I would 100% recommend this book for anyone navigating infertility and loss.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.
As someone who struggled with fertility issues and loss, I really hoped this book would resonate with me. I may just be in a different phase of life now. I do find what’s inside meaningful, and I think for those currently in the trenches, this could be a good read. The goal is definitely connection and making the journey feel less isolating. Some of the anecdotes and techniques included could be very helpful.
As someone who struggled with fertility issues and loss, I really hoped this book would resonate with me. I may just be in a different phase of life now. I do find what’s inside meaningful, and I think for those currently in the trenches, this could be a good read. The goal is definitely connection and making the journey feel less isolating. Some of the anecdotes and techniques included could be very helpful.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews