A story about an unintended pregnancy, and learning that allowing people to help you does not make you a leech.
Plot: Win is a young woman still looking to find her place in the world. She has a limb difference with creates some challenges with some fine mobility tasks, but she absolutely hates being treated differently because of it. She can do just about anything anyone else can, even if it requires a bit of clever ingenuity to accomplish sometimes. One does wonder then, how she ended up stuck working in a coffee shop for minimum wage for several years when her dreams seem to demand more of her. She’s in a weird space when she meets Bo at a party. He’s funny and charming and smart and isn’t obnoxious about her hand difference. So they hook up, and not too long after, Win learns she is pregnant. She wants the baby and so does Bo, but it is going to take a long more than a bit of clever ingenuity to make this situation work. Shenanigans ensue.
Off the bat, I think it’s important to note that I read Next of Kin before reading Out on a Limb, and invariably this affects how much this story worked for me. There are a lot of similar plot beats, so while they are very much their own stories, I suspect whichever one you read first will be the one you like better.
At its core, this story is about learning to accept help. Learning that asking for help is not only okay, but a way to build community. That to allow people to help you is its own form of vulnerability, and a way to show someone you care about that they matter to you. It’s a gentle story without any major drama or arguments. People behave like adults, work through their issues, and earn the crap out of their happy ending.
