If you passed her on the street, you might not notice her.
She doesn’t beg for attention. She doesn’t command the room. She doesn’t crack jokes to make you like her.
But Millie Anderson doesn’t need to be loud to be powerful.
She is the heartbeat of Millie’s Daughter. And if you let her in, she just might stay with you forever.
The Woman Behind the Escape
When readers first meet Millie, she’s not in the middle of some grand transformation. She’s in survival mode. She’s hiding bruises under makeup. She’s quietly transferring money into a hidden account. She’s tucking her daughter into bed at night while watching the door.
What struck me while writing her is that strength doesn’t always look like strength.
Sometimes it looks like folding laundry while planning an escape. Sometimes it looks like applying for a job in another city while pretending everything’s fine. Sometimes it looks like protecting your child at the cost of your sanity.
Millie is doing all of that—and more.
Writing a Woman Who Refused to Break
Writing Millie wasn’t easy.
She’s guarded. She keeps her thoughts close. She doesn’t want to be pitied. And she doesn’t always make “perfect” decisions—because no one in real danger ever does.
But she’s also:
- Brilliant in her planning
- Fierce in her loyalty
- Unflinchingly honest with herself, even when it hurts
Millie also lives with bipolar II disorder, something she never uses as an excuse—but never hides either. Her highs and lows are real. They color her judgment, complicate her escape, and challenge her recovery. But they also add to her humanity.
She is not her diagnosis. She is not her trauma. She is a mother who refuses to let her daughter grow up afraid.
My Favorite Line from Millie (So Far)
“I don’t care if the judge believes me. I don’t care if the world believes me. I just care that Molly never has to see his face again.”
It’s lines like that—raw, simple, protective—that remind me why I had to write this book.
Want a Glimpse into Her World?
Here’s a short excerpt from early in the novel, when Millie has just made the final decision to flee:
Millie stood at the edge of the bed, watching Molly sleep. Her chest rose and fell, slow and steady, and Millie imagined time freezing right there—no Colton, no deadlines, no fear. Just a child, safe under blankets she didn’t know were packed for leaving. She swallowed hard, knowing what came next. Once they walked out that door, nothing would ever be the same. But staying? That wasn’t an option anymore. “I’m sorry, baby,” she whispered. “We’re running because I love you. And someday, you’ll understand what that means.”
Coming Up Next
In the next post, I’ll introduce you to Molly—the daughter at the center of it all. She’s wise beyond her years, carries a fierce sense of justice, and has a gift for seeing through people’s masks.
If Millie is the novel’s heart, Molly is its voice.
Thanks for reading—and if Millie has already left a mark on you, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
—Richard
The Pencil Driven Life 