Recently, I was a guest on the Straight from the Hip podcast, hosted by Dr. Pablo Casteñeda, the Chairman and Medical Director of the International Hip Dysplasia Institute.

We talked about the first book I wrote years ago The Parents’ Guide to Hip Dysplasia, what it’s like to have ongoing hip problems, and why I’m writing a new book Hip Replacement at Any Age.

The podcast episode is Betsy Miller & the lived and shared experience, March 16, 2026.

If you’re interested in updates about my next book, join the Thinking Ink Press email list at thinkinginkpress.com/thr

I’m still in the writing stage, but we plan to publish Hip Replacement at Any Age at Thinking Ink Press when the manuscript is done.

​Two of the other writers who were sitting at the table with me said they always worry that the pages will come undone and fly all over the place if they carry a manuscript that way instead of putting it inside a binder. 
I never worry about that. What I like about using a clip is that I can separate the pages if I want to as I read and mark up the pages. Very old school, right? But sometimes I like working this way because I’m not distracted by any incoming messages on a computer or the lure of the internet. 
We talked about that image of pages flying around and I remembered seeing that in the movie Please Stand By (Dakota Fanning), and someone else said they’d seen that in the movie Love Actually, and maybe that’s where their worry originated. It’s a very cinematic image—pages sailing around while someone is scrambling to catch them. 
So, anyway best wishes to all you writers out there—here’s hoping that none of your pages escape!

For those who don't know, my working title for this book is Hip Replacement at Any Age:
Complicated hips and unexpected problems
​My idea is to write a book about hip replacement and the issues surrounding it that will be a little different from the books that are already out there. My focus is on the experiences of being a patient, especially for those who have an ongoing hip problem. 
It's a big project writing a book like this, but I like to write and I feel better about tackling this subject than I did years ago, so my goal is to finish a complete manuscript with illustrations that will ultimately get published.
I recently got legal permission from the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) to use three of their illustrations, which is great! One image turned out to be too low resolution to be suitable for print reproduction, but the other two will look good.  
So, that's my update for today!
Happy writing to all my writing friends. 📝

I circled back to this nonfiction book idea, and I'm really happy with how the writing is going!

The working title for my book is:
Hip Replacement at Any Age: Complicated Hips and Unexpected Problems

​In the past, I've been asked to write a book about hip replacement by a publisher and also by a nonprofit. I soon discovered that trying to write this book made me feel sad and sometimes angry about my own hip issues. I couldn't get enough distance and I struggled with the tone. So, I set it aside to write other things. For years. 

There already are books and info about hip replacement that focus on the best-case outcome for retired people. I get it, those are useful books. But they made me feel worse. My situation is complicated due to residual hip dysplasia. I waited 15 years to get a hip replacement and when I finally did, the recovery was hard, and I still have lingering issues that can't be completely solved due to my bone structure. 

My book will be different because my perspective is different. I'm not an MD. I'm not a person who got a hip replacement and hiked to the top of a mountain. I'm writing the book I wish had existed when I was feeling like the only person in the world who didn't fit the mainstream narrative about hip replacement. 

And best of all, I feel happy as I'm writing it!

When I'm writing a book, I sometimes create a detailed table of contents, print it out, and then mark it up. Here's a page from my outline with notes in case anyone's curious. ​Yes, I write with a purple pen! 💜

​The Neurodiversiverse is a diverse, hopeful anthology of neurodiversity-themed science fiction short stories, poetry and art for anyone who loves science fiction, who cares about neurodiversity, or who wants to see optimistic visions of the future.

You can get The Neurodiversiverse in the format of your choice directly from Thinking Ink Press or at your retailer of choice. 

Check it out--I hope you enjoy it!