‘I HAD TO SHARE MY HEARTACHE’

The actress opens up about the joys – and pain – of pregnancy in her new book

Talking to Woman’s Day, 34-year-old mum-of-four Teresa Palmer – who has penned her first book, Zen

Mamas, with actress and best friend Sarah Wright Olsen – explains why it was important for her to write a book that she wished she had when she was pregnant.

Why did you feel compelled to write about pregnancy?

When I was first pregnant I felt like I had to read six different books to get everything that I needed. It was hard to find a book that showed all the sides of the pregnancy journey. So for Sarah and I, it was integral that we open up ourselves in a vulnerable way and share lots of intimate details on our struggles and share our journeys with miscarriages, too.

How did it feel writing your stories of pregnancy loss?

It was cathartic. My industry can put up a lot of barriers up around you, where people see you on the screen and have a perception of who you are, and often it’s not a real perception. I felt the responsibility to break down those barriers and open up and say, “Look, sh*tty things happen to us, too.” I wish the people that I looked up to when I was a young woman had opened up about all the peaks and valleys in their lives, too.

Why do you think people don’t talk about these things?

I think a lot of people just want

their privacy, which is a natural thing. I’m probably in the minority of people who are willing to be so open with aspects of my private life. But if I didn’t think I had the kind of passion that I have for parenting I would have just focused on my acting career and I would have controlled what I say more. But motherhood might actually be my priority over acting.

You’re juggling an acting career with four children [sons Bodhi, six, and Forest, three, daughter Poet, one, and stepson Isaac, 11]. How the hell did you find the time to write this book?

I wrote my chapters in the back of a tiny RV, driving across America. My husband [Mark Webber] would be driving, I had the baby on the bed in the back, breastfeeding while writing. I’d just sit back there and go for it, bouncing around everywhere and missing most of the country but I got a lot of work done [laughs].

This is a particularly stressful time. How are you finding your Zen now?

It’s about finding the positives. Even though we’re not seeing our friends, we’ve created our home as our haven. I’m able to sit and do school work with the children and be with them and not be distracted by the outside world in a way I haven’t ever been able to do. I’ve pulled the kids out of school, which means we’re all here together. It’s this enforced family time and it's beautiful, as exhausting and tiring as it can be [laughs].

ZEN MAMAS OUT NOW (Penguin Random House Australia, $34.99)