A quick check in
I'm out of office and working from garden.
Hello dear subscribers, as most of you know, I am pouring every last brain cell I’ve got right now into finishing the first draft of book 4. So this is just a little check in really, to say hi and update you on where I’m up to. Here I am ‘working from garden’ in this beautiful weather! Hi!
I just delivered the 6th chapter of 7 to my editor and I have 1 more chapter plus intro and conclusion, plus a lot of tidying up of all the chapters to do by the end of this month. I am not completely sure if that’s possible, especially given how long it’s taken me to get the existing 6 chapters done (9 months basically). Having said that, over those 9 months I’ve done a little GBLAF podcast series, had an absolute nightmare with the Positive Birth Book that has sapped a lot of energy, tried and given up on creating a book consultancy based substack on here, and even applied for a job as an apprentice gardener (for which I didn’t even make the interview stage). Although on the surface I’ve mainly been sat in my kitchen at my laptop, underneath it all I’ve actually been struggling a bit with the aftershocks of being attacked for my views that sex is real and it matters. A period of readjustment has been slowly happening, which is not quite over yet. Some decisions about the future need to be made - but for now, all I can do is just focus on getting this bloody book finished!
I’m longing to tell you all about it, and I’m also longing for the space in my life that it being finished will create. Hopefully both of those things will come about in the next couple of months. I don’t know why publishers like some books to be kept under wraps (and yet others get ‘announced’ as soon as the deal is struck?) but it’s bloody frustrating!
For now I’ll just leave you with a few bits of news.
Firstly, I was on the lovely Julie Bindel’s podcast last week. You can listen here:
Secondly I am so pleased to say that the Positive Birth Book is finally back in print and available from ALL good bookshops. What a nightmare that has been, but in the midst of it, like a ray of hope, I also found out that it was Mumsnet’s Best Overall Pregnancy Book for 2023. Another reason to love Mumsnet, as if we needed one!
So now I must get back to book 4, chapter 7! More news soon. Thank you for the lovely messages you send me. Enjoy this sunshine! Milli x
Milli Hill- you are a super star!
Sex IS real and I am proud of you for standing up for reality and for hard-win Womens rights.
I am a consultant obstetrician and a feminist and I absolutely LOVED your book.
I think that sadly, no matter how much a woman wishes to achieve a normal birth, unfortunately this is not always possible and sometimes trying too hard for a normal birth can put the baby at risk as we have seen from recent high profile scandals ( barrow in Furness and Morecambe bay maternity units).
I think you would enjoy the FILIA conference should speak at it!
Thank you for being such an inspiration! Good luck with finishing off your book. You have a whole host of supportive women behind you, cheering you on.