Out on a Limb

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.

Win’s houseplants begin as a symbol of her unexpressed need for nurture and companionship and, by the end, signify her personality quirks and interests. Initially, Win chose the houseplants to add cheer and life to her living space, the apartment where she landed after her breakup with Jack and from which she hasn’t yet moved on. The apartment’s general shabbiness, not entirely disguised by the plants, symbolizes the holding pattern that Win’s life is in, as she’s still vulnerable from this relationship that turned sour.

Sarah and Caleb show their care for Win by helping her with her plants when they assist in her move to Bo’s house. Bo’s joke about the sheer quantity of plants emphasizes how badly she needed cheering in her old apartment and life, and they are also a sign of the abundance entering Bo’s life. When he builds a greenhouse for Win near the end of the book, this gesture is an extension of his wish to take care of and please her, and it shows that he understands and supports her interests. The Bonus Epilogue that describes their wedding uses the

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