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A Common Misconception: Surviving miscarriage, infertility and grief
'This book is a stigma-smashing, hope-giving, anecdote-telling kind of support. It is your best mate who comes over with soft, stinky cheese, deli meats, shellfish and wine as soon as you tell them your test is negative or your pregnancy is non-viable. This book is a warm hug, a friendship circle, a big sister. And this sister has been there. She understands. She's holding your hand and walking you through some of the really tough stuff you're feeling.'
Around the world, over 23 million people experience a form of pregnancy loss every year. In Australia that translates to 150 000 lost pregnancies. Yet navigating the tragedy, shock and grief of such a common experience is still largely a taboo topic of conversation.
A Common Misconception is a how-to guide to surviving miscarriage, infertility and grief written by someone who truly knows. Libby Trainor Parker, a journalist, author and comedy cabaret star, has lived through 11 pregnancy losses of her own and countless fertility appointments. Incorporating her signature warm, conversational and compassionate style, A Common Misconception is part instruction manual, part memoir, offering practical steps towards recovery as well as a whole lot of understanding and empathy for anyone living and coping with loss.
Through interviews with experts, shared stories, and support for taking care of your heart (along with a few swear words and cathartic giggles thrown in for good measure), A Common Misconception is designed to be picked up, put down, bookmarked for later reading or consumed whole. When you're ready.
Around the world, over 23 million people experience a form of pregnancy loss every year. In Australia that translates to 150 000 lost pregnancies. Yet navigating the tragedy, shock and grief of such a common experience is still largely a taboo topic of conversation.
A Common Misconception is a how-to guide to surviving miscarriage, infertility and grief written by someone who truly knows. Libby Trainor Parker, a journalist, author and comedy cabaret star, has lived through 11 pregnancy losses of her own and countless fertility appointments. Incorporating her signature warm, conversational and compassionate style, A Common Misconception is part instruction manual, part memoir, offering practical steps towards recovery as well as a whole lot of understanding and empathy for anyone living and coping with loss.
Through interviews with experts, shared stories, and support for taking care of your heart (along with a few swear words and cathartic giggles thrown in for good measure), A Common Misconception is designed to be picked up, put down, bookmarked for later reading or consumed whole. When you're ready.
292 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 30, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 10, 2026
Big thanks to Echo Publishing for sending us a copy to read and review.
Although our lives are more public than ever with social media a lot of people are enduring and suffering invisible physical and emotional conditions that have major impacts on them.
Libby reveals her own journey with the attempt to have a biological child.
A story that educates, provides anecdote reinforcement and explains different type of miscarriages and pregnancies will open eyes and hearts.
Falling pregnant and carrying a child to full term may appear to be easy as you observe the family units in public spaces and within social groups.
For some it was a mentally and financially draining and others it was easy. Roulette of life at play.
It’s the couples that don’t have a baby to showcase that potentially suffer the anguish and fatigue from trying and keeping up appearances in all social and professional settings.
Sometimes unintentionally ostracised.
Libby’s personal story enlightened me and opened my eyes.
The language used by professionals, actions of people that don’t want offend and options available to pursue pregnancy and the gift of a child all discussed. Humour helps lighten but does not finish the power of the journey.
Although our lives are more public than ever with social media a lot of people are enduring and suffering invisible physical and emotional conditions that have major impacts on them.
Libby reveals her own journey with the attempt to have a biological child.
A story that educates, provides anecdote reinforcement and explains different type of miscarriages and pregnancies will open eyes and hearts.
Falling pregnant and carrying a child to full term may appear to be easy as you observe the family units in public spaces and within social groups.
For some it was a mentally and financially draining and others it was easy. Roulette of life at play.
It’s the couples that don’t have a baby to showcase that potentially suffer the anguish and fatigue from trying and keeping up appearances in all social and professional settings.
Sometimes unintentionally ostracised.
Libby’s personal story enlightened me and opened my eyes.
The language used by professionals, actions of people that don’t want offend and options available to pursue pregnancy and the gift of a child all discussed. Humour helps lighten but does not finish the power of the journey.
July 17, 2026
This book is deeply important, and it should be read by as many people as possible — especially by people with no direct experience of pregnancy loss, because the odds are that someone close to you has lived through it.
A Common Misconception is kind, compassionate, informative and outrageously funny. It’s filled with a carefully distilled combination of lived experience, shared stories and research undertaken with journalistic flair. This book can — and will — improve the lives of many people struggling with pregnancy loss. Reading it feels like sitting down with the author over a cup of tea and a packet of biscuits (or red wine and soft cheeses, depending on what you need) and having a long, cathartic chat while she reassures you that she loves you and that things will eventually get better. It also opens your mind to the intricacies of human bodies and the inherent fragility of creating new life, supported by Libby’s extensive interviews with specialists and accredited researchers.
A special mention goes to the chapter written by Libby’s partner, Matty. Narratives around pregnancy loss often centre on the person physically experiencing the pregnancy — and rightly so, because it is their body being impacted. But we often dismiss or minimise the grief carried by non‑birthing partners, who walk a careful tightrope between supporting their loved one and grieving their own significant loss, along with all the small imagined moments that come with it. Matty’s chapter offers a rare insight into this experience, beautifully complemented by stories from other partners who have gone through the same.
Drawing on a community of supporters and friends, Libby has woven a rich tapestry of stories and vitally important information into a loving guide for an experience that is rarely spoken about openly. As the child of a parent who experienced multiple pregnancy losses, this book helped me develop a much deeper understanding of what my mother went through and why it was so difficult for her. I hope that people impacted by pregnancy loss are able to read this book, see their experiences reflected in it, and know they are not alone in their grief.
A Common Misconception is kind, compassionate, informative and outrageously funny. It’s filled with a carefully distilled combination of lived experience, shared stories and research undertaken with journalistic flair. This book can — and will — improve the lives of many people struggling with pregnancy loss. Reading it feels like sitting down with the author over a cup of tea and a packet of biscuits (or red wine and soft cheeses, depending on what you need) and having a long, cathartic chat while she reassures you that she loves you and that things will eventually get better. It also opens your mind to the intricacies of human bodies and the inherent fragility of creating new life, supported by Libby’s extensive interviews with specialists and accredited researchers.
A special mention goes to the chapter written by Libby’s partner, Matty. Narratives around pregnancy loss often centre on the person physically experiencing the pregnancy — and rightly so, because it is their body being impacted. But we often dismiss or minimise the grief carried by non‑birthing partners, who walk a careful tightrope between supporting their loved one and grieving their own significant loss, along with all the small imagined moments that come with it. Matty’s chapter offers a rare insight into this experience, beautifully complemented by stories from other partners who have gone through the same.
Drawing on a community of supporters and friends, Libby has woven a rich tapestry of stories and vitally important information into a loving guide for an experience that is rarely spoken about openly. As the child of a parent who experienced multiple pregnancy losses, this book helped me develop a much deeper understanding of what my mother went through and why it was so difficult for her. I hope that people impacted by pregnancy loss are able to read this book, see their experiences reflected in it, and know they are not alone in their grief.
July 15, 2026
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A Common Misconception is one of those books that stays with you long after you’ve finished it.
What I appreciated most was Libby Trainor Parker’s willingness to tell a story that so often goes untold. After experiencing 11 pregnancy losses and never having the “happy ending” people expect, she has written with honesty, courage and remarkable generosity. There is immense value in acknowledging that not every journey ends with a baby, and that those stories deserve to be heard too.
I also loved the way Libby wove in the experiences of others. Every story felt unique and was given the space to simply exist. There was no attempt to explain away people’s grief, compare experiences, or impose meaning where it wasn’t wanted. That quiet respect for each person’s reality is one of the book’s greatest strengths.
This isn’t an easy read emotionally, but it’s an important one. It challenges the misconceptions we hold about pregnancy loss, fertility and healing, while reminding us that every experience is valid. Thank you, Libby, for creating space for these conversations with such compassion and authenticity.
A Common Misconception is one of those books that stays with you long after you’ve finished it.
What I appreciated most was Libby Trainor Parker’s willingness to tell a story that so often goes untold. After experiencing 11 pregnancy losses and never having the “happy ending” people expect, she has written with honesty, courage and remarkable generosity. There is immense value in acknowledging that not every journey ends with a baby, and that those stories deserve to be heard too.
I also loved the way Libby wove in the experiences of others. Every story felt unique and was given the space to simply exist. There was no attempt to explain away people’s grief, compare experiences, or impose meaning where it wasn’t wanted. That quiet respect for each person’s reality is one of the book’s greatest strengths.
This isn’t an easy read emotionally, but it’s an important one. It challenges the misconceptions we hold about pregnancy loss, fertility and healing, while reminding us that every experience is valid. Thank you, Libby, for creating space for these conversations with such compassion and authenticity.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews