Author: Rebecca Freeborn
ISBN:978-1-925700-37-4
RRP: $29.99
Publication Date: 15 July 2019
Publisher: Pantera Press
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
This month, I had the opportunity to read ‘Misconception’ by Rebecca Freeborn. This is a deep story about a couple in turmoil, but it’s an easy, light and entertaining read, while tackling very serious and sad matters.
Ali and Tom are the perfect couple, happily in love, independent, and successful in their careers. They have the world at their feet, and they’re excited about the upcoming birth of their first child.
Suddenly their world is shattered when they lose their baby. Neither Ali nor Tom know how to move forward. Do they return to work? Do they stay home? Do they go to Friday night after work drinks, or do they stay home to grieve? And perhaps most importantly – can they turn toward one another or do they pull away?
The picture-perfect marriage that Ali and Tom once had seems threatened as Ali and Tom try to move on from grief it is impossible to move on from.
I won’t say too much more about the book for fear of giving away spoilers, but I will say that I was a little anxious about how sad this book would be. Misconception did have me tear up a couple of times, but it was far from a depressing read. The topic of the book is serious, though the writing style is light, and I felt I got to know the characters well. The book flips between Ali and Tom’s perspectives, which I appreciated – often in a story like this, you do not get the male’s perspective, so hearing Tom’s ‘side’ of things was a great addition to the richness of the story. The story doesn’t just focus on the tragic loss of the baby, it also focuses on other story lines – career issues, friendship, relationships between mothers and daughters, and a few other themes I won’t go into here. It’s a ‘snapshot of time’ in Ali and Tom’s lives at the most difficult point of their lives, as they numbingly try to move forward.
Thank you to Pantera Press and Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to review this thought provoking and entertaining book in return for an honest review.
This guest review was submitted by Raechel, one of our Beauty and Lace Club members. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us Raechel.
Rebecca Freeborn can be followed on Facebook and on her Website.
Misconception is published by Pantera Press and is available now where all good books are sold.
Thanks to Pantera Press, 25 of our Beauty and Lace Club Members will be reading Misconception so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments below.
Raechel is a Professor, mother of 5 and avid reader. She always has at least four books on the go at any one time – an audio book, a fiction e-book, a non-fiction e-book, and an ‘actual’ book. She is often criticized for this behaviour!
Misconception. By Rebecca Freeborn
Ali and Tom have been happily married for 10 years and are expecting their first child when they are told the shattering news that their unborn baby has died.
The reader is then taken on the heart wrenching journey with Ali and Tom as each of them deals with this death in different ways. Family & friends don’t know how to help them through their grief. How do you face coming home from hospital to a nursery prepared with love and excitement, but now with no baby to put in it? Can you even think of a funeral for a baby who never lived? Could it – will it- happen if they ever think about having another child? Does maternity leave apply if you don’t have a baby to care for?
So many never before thought of things to have to deal with. And the biggest one for Ali and Tom – will this bind them closer together or tear them apart.?
A story that makes you think of things that may (thankfully) have never crossed your mind before. And the knowledge that everyone does things differently.
An emotional read. Thanks to Beauty & Lace Book Club and to Pantera Press for the chance to read this book.
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This book was so sad but Ali and Tom made it through the ups and downs they went through from losing their baby to stillbirth but they finally made it to their happy ending
And a big shoutout to the brilliant Rebecca freeborn and beauty and lace for the opportunity to read this beautiful book thank you so much
Such a powerful and moving story about family,love and loss. I couldn’t put it down.
The Misconception by Rebecca Freeborn really delves into the concept of how a couple is torn apart by stillbirth and the steps they take to heal and come back together.
This book was a really sad look into the life of a couple that lose a baby to stillbirth. It does include other parts of the couples life, but really shows the impact that this has on all aspects of their lives. Its not only about their sadness, but also about how they cope, separately and together. I loved that this had the males point of view as well as the females.
Thanks to Beauty and Lace for the chance to read this book.
Misconception was definitely an emotional read! It deals with a difficult subject matter that is often skirted around and I’m glad that this novel opens up the dialogue about miscarriages and still birth. It is a moving and thought provoking story about relationships, family, love and loss.
Thank you to Beauty and Lace and Pantera Press for providing a copy for review.
I was a little apprehensive about reading this book given the content, however I’m so glad I read it. Whilst the content is definitely difficult in some parts, it discusses important issues which can be unspoken about. It captures the emotions perfectly, and takes the reader on a journey through the grief the main character is trying to navigate. This book hooked me rather quickly and I couldn’t put it down. The only thing I found frustrating was the short chapter lengths. Otherwise it was a great read and I’d recommend it.
Thank you for the opportunity to participate.
Rebecca Freeborn has been able to tackle a heart wrenching and sensitive issue with care and insight in her novel “Misconception”.
Young career driven couple Ali and Tom are successful and happy. Despite apprehensions about having a baby due to her own experiences as a child and the resultant fractured relationship with her mother, Ali and Tom decide they want to be parents. Both are overjoyed when Ali falls pregnant and they eagerly await the arrival of their baby.
All is well until Ali’s third trimester, but this changes quickly and tragically when Ali realizes she hasn’t felt the baby moving as she should, and ultimately their worst fears are realised.
Ali and Tom deal with the loss of their baby and their grief, in totally different ways and the novel takes readers on a rollercoaster of emotions as the couple fall apart and then rebuild their lives.
The novel is well written, raw and poignant and I couldn’t put it down. I would highly recommend this book, although it could push some buttons for anyone who has experienced the loss of a baby.
Thank you Beauty and Lace and Pantera Press.
Have the tissues ready. A beautiful story, touching a sensitive subject, Rebecca has done so with compassion. Tom and Ali are real and the ending is beautiful.
Misconception is an amazing story, it follows Ali and Tom who have what seems to be the perfect marriage and lives, but following the loss of their unborn baby everything shifts.
Its such a captivating and raw story and I have the feeling that it wouldn’t be far from what the “real life” scenario would be
Thankyou to Beauty and Lace and Pantera Press for the opportunity to get lost in this story, I loved it and would read it 100 times again
Misconception book is about a married couple. Ali and Tom have been happily married for 10 years and are expecting their first child when they are told the shattering news that their unborn baby has died.
It is a roller coaster ride for both of them and the reader I could not put the book down. please have the tissues handy you will need them.