Interview: Miranda Luby on Sadie Starr’s Guide to Starting Over

In this special podcast episode, we chat to the author of Sadie Starr’s Guide to Starting Over: Miranda Luby, award-winning author, freelance journalist, copywriter and communications professional. Sadie Starr is her debut novel.

We chat about perfectionism, disordered eating, and performative social activism. Miranda shares insights into her inspiration, writing, and thoughts around how we write about mental health. Please note that the first half of the episode is spoiler-free!

Show notes

About Sadie Starr’s Guide to Starting Over

Sadie Starr is obsessed with starting over. A new year, a new diet, a new social media identity. Anything that gives her a chance to be a better version of herself.So when her dad’s job moves the family interstate, Sadie’s excited for a fresh start. It’s also the perfect excuse to leave behind the mess she’s made with her best friend and secret crush Daniel.

But at her new school, life gets complicated fast. She meets glamorous Alexa and her pink-badged girl gang, on a mission to ‘support women’, and outcast Jack, who the girls say has been stalking fellow student Loz. But Loz has a different story, one that changes everything.

Sadie’s torn. She wants to be popular. She wants to keep Loz’s secret. She wants to fix everything. But she’ll have to make choices. And the wrong ones could throw her perfect new life into complete chaos.

Out August 2022 with Text Publishing.

About the author

Miranda Luby is an award-winning author, freelance journalist, copywriter and communications professional living on Victoria’s Surf Coast.

Her feature stories appear in publications such as National Geographic and the BBC and her columns have been syndicated by the Daily Mail and the New York Post. Her publicity has gained coverage in media outlets such as Fox News, The Guardian, Geek, and the 7:30 Report. She also writes copy for businesses and organisations, and sometimes takes photos.

Miranda is an award winning fiction writer. Her debut, Text Prize-shortlisted young adult novel Sadie Starr’s Guide to Starting Over is out with Text Publishing in August 2022. Her short stories have been published by Bloomsbury and Margaret River Press and she has been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Prize.

You can find Miranda on her website, Twitter and Instagram.

Miranda’s author and book recommendations

• The Centre of My Everything by Allayne L. Webster
• The Writer Laid Bare by Lee Kofman

Relevant mental health resources

• The Centre for Clinical Interventions (CCI) has self-help tips and strategies around recognising and overcoming perfectionism.
• Butterfly is an Australian organisation that provides information and support to people experiencing eating disorders.
• Break Binge Eating provides a range of information about overcoming binge eating, and a course aimed at clinicians.