Out on a Limb

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of illness, death by suicide, ableism, and mental illness. 

Win’s character arc centers on the changes in her life that result from her unexpected pregnancy, and much of the book explores the way she handles her new circumstances. While portraying pregnancy and motherhood as a challenging undertaking regardless of one’s circumstances, the novel explores how Win’s limb difference and perceptions about how it will impact her ability to parent present obstacles that she must overcome. The author thus shows that Win’s experience challenges conventional assumptions about what a person is capable of and how society perceives people with disabilities, particularly mothers. Through highlighting her resilience and the importance of receiving support, the author shows Win’s ability to overcome barriers associated with expectant motherhood. 

First among Win’s conflicts is one that the technician brings up at her initial ultrasound. Noting the activity in the developing fetus, the technician remarks that Win will have her hands full with her child. This is a common, nearly ubiquitous expression that emphasizes that the management of infants and small children is a full-time job. However, the particular reference to hands strikes a nerve with Win due to her limb difference, as she reflexively thinks, “Hands are kinda the issue here, lady” (94). Her smaller hand gives Win concern that if she has a more difficult time with tasks like doing up buttons or braiding her hair, she’ll be challenged to perform essential parenting tasks—fastening diapers, buckling car seat straps, and so on. Bonam-Young shares in her Author’s Note to the Dell paperback that, due to her limb difference, this common metonym of hands and mothering was a concern of hers during her first pregnancy, and this personal experience helps lend realism to Win’s concerns. 

The assumption that one would “need an extra set of hands” for parenting reflects the reality that caring for an infant is a demanding undertaking. Yet this common expression also reflects the outlook of people without disabilities and doesn’t take into consideration how a person with a limb difference or limb loss might handle the typical tasks of childrearing. As she meets each stage of her pregnancy with resilience—and Bo’s support—Win realizes that she is indeed capable of these tasks of pregnancy and childcare, not just on her terms but on any terms.

The stages of Win’s pregnancy, while moving her along her character arc, also provide moments of connection with Bo that develop the romance. Her confession of pregnancy facilitates their reunion, and Bo’s agreement to co-parent offers them reasons to interact further. From the first ultrasound, when Win is annoyed by the smug fellow pregnant woman whom she names “Fertile Myrtle,” Bo reveals himself as her partner and emotional support, sharing in her sense of humor and mischief as they pretend like he’s a random guy she invited to her appointment. When Bo invites Win to move in with him, the proximity allows him to experience her pregnancy as her full partner, from feeling the baby kick to attending the second ultrasound. Bo shares Win’s anxieties about parenthood, expressing his own fears that the child will be excessively mobile and that he “won’t be able to keep up” (218). While they experience the customary wonder and fears that accompany pregnancy, Bo and Win bond over the empathy that each has for the other’s unique insecurities. Bo’s emotional, physical, and financial support greatly eases Win’s challenges of expectant motherhood, and his belief in her shores up her confidence in her ability to effectively parent.