Is This a Cry for Help?

Darcy has a wife she loves, a home filled with books and a job at the library. Then the death of an ex-boyfriend unsettles the life she thought she understood, sending her into a mental health crisis and away from work. Returning to the library offers no simple return to normal: book challenges and hostility toward its inclusive programs have put her workplace under pressure. While Darcy navigates grief, guilt and questions about her past, her colleagues, community and wife Joy remain part of a complicated present. Emily Austin's novel follows a queer woman beyond the usual coming-out milestone, into the less tidy work of living with herself and speaking up.