Graceful Burdens

Out of Line

by Roxane Gay

From New York Times bestselling author Roxane Gay comes an unforgettable tale of nightmarish bureaucracy in which genetic profiling has redefined the “unfit mother.”

A trip to the library prompts one woman to question her fate in this galvanizing short story. For a woman like Hadley, deemed not acceptable to procreate, there’s only one recourse. Unlicensed for motherhood, she can alleviate her grief and frustration at a “baby library,” where a curiously endless supply of infants is available for a two-week loan. But the borrowed life that serves as a temporary balm leads to a journey of self-discovery that will forever change the direction of Hadley’s future.

Roxane Gay’s Graceful Burdens is part of Out of Line, an incisive collection of funny, enraging, and hopeful stories of women’s empowerment and escape. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Audiobook, Dystopia, Feminism, Science Fiction, Novella

24 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2020

About the author

Roxane Gay’s writing appears in Best American Mystery Stories 2014, Best American Short Stories 2012, Best Sex Writing 2012, A Public Space, McSweeney’s, Tin House, Oxford American, American Short Fiction, Virginia Quarterly Review, and many others. She is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. She is the author of the books Ayiti, An Untamed State, the New York Times bestselling Bad Feminist, the nationally bestselling Difficult Women and the New York Times bestselling Hunger. She is also the author of World of Wakanda for Marvel. She has several books forthcoming and is also at work on television and film projects. Her newsletter, The Audacity, where she also hosts The Audacious Book Club, can be found at audacity.substack.com.

Reviews

[Brat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roxane! We need a full book about this! Whew!

[Rosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a Nutshell: After a long time, an Amazon Original Story that impressed me! Would have loved for this to be a novel. But even as is, it’s quite a thought-provoking read.

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Story Synopsis:

In some dystopian future not too far ahead, there’s a baby library where a woman can borrow a baby for a few days.
Sidra: A caretaker who is chosen to work with the babies at the library as she isn’t fond of them.
Hadley: A woman not licensed to procreate, though she longs to have a baby.
Seraphina: A woman licensed to procreate, but hates her husband and kids and longs to escape.
How are the lives of these three women connected? Read and find out.

This is one of the standalone short stories in the ‘Out of Line’ collection, described on Amazon as “an incisive collection of funny, enraging, and hopeful stories of women’s empowerment and escape.”

I can’t remember the last time I read an Amazon Original Story from start to end without zoning out even once.
(I went through my shelves to check this out. It was in November 2022, when I read Kate Quinn’s mind-blowing “Signal Moon”.)

Right at the start, the concept of a ‘baby library’ blew my mind. (Not gonna lie – I would have happily visited this library every day and played with all the babies until the librarians drove me away for making too much noise!) Though the story has just 21 pages, we still know the essentials about how the library functions.

We see the story from the view of the three main women characters mentioned above, each of whom is so distinct in their personality and preferences. I loved how the author made them seem real without resorting to clichés, and how their personality is carved in detail even within the limited page space they have. Hardly does a short story impress me so much with its character development.

I also enjoyed the explanation of how the world functioned in terms of licenses for procreating. The process was written about in such a casual way that it takes time to accept the tyranny of such a forced decision. I haven’t yet read Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, but based on what I have heard, there might be some similarity in the concepts. Perhaps my lack of familiarity with the popular novel worked in my favour.

Coincidentally, the only other story I have read so far from this series, ‘Halfway to Free’ is also set around women who aren’t allowed to have children. That story actually seemed futuristic because of its tech, thereby distancing it from our time. But ‘Graceful Burden’, because of its barely-there futuristic elements, seems like it can fit into the contemporary world.

Two reasons why I am not rating this higher.

First, there are a few things that stay unanswered in this story. Like, what’s the time setting? It seems to be the near future but isn’t dystopian enough. There are some gaps in the second half. I am not going into those as they are spoilers, but I’ll just say that it’s not fun to fill in multiple plot gaps without adequate context.

Second, I wanted to know these characters and this world more. It offered so much potential as a novel that to see it as a short story, albeit a complete one, is a bit disappointing.

Regardless, even at this length, the story is power-packed. It will raise plenty of questions in your mind, not all of which will have a definite answer.

Definitely recommended if you want to try out an interesting short story with a mildly dystopian setting and intriguing character perspectives.

4.25 stars.


This standalone story is a part of the “Out Of Line” collection, and is currently available free to Amazon Prime subscribers.




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[luce (cry bebè's back from hiatus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

/ / / Read more reviews on my blog / / /

2 ½ stars

Graceful Burdens is a competently written short story that is very much concerned with reproductive justice. This story presents us with a world in which some women do not meet the necessary 'requirements' to be mothers and therefore are not allowed to reproduce. Some 'unfit mothers' borrow babies from a 'baby library', others are grateful not to have to reproduce. Of course, there are also those who have no choice but to reproduce. The reality Roxane Gay writes of is sadly not wholly unimaginable (I come from a country that makes it nearly impossible to have an abortion, and where an anti-choice group buried the foetuses of women who miscarried or had abortions without their knowledge/consent ).
The thing is Gay doesn't do anything expectational prose, plot or world-building wise. There are many other novels that explore similar concepts (to name a few: The Handmaid's Tale, Red Clocks, The Farm) with much more depth.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this at 2am with an insomnia riddled brain so my review isn't going to be amazing. However, that said I really enjoyed this. It was very feminist, very much about reproductive rights and the various societal roles women take on (whether they want them or not), and their perceived worth depending on whether they are mothers or not. I found it quite thought provoking, and I liked the various women's voices. It had definite The Handmaid's Tale vibes, and for such a short novella I thought you could grasp enough of the dystopian world and social structure to understand what was happening and really imagine the setting.

If anything I just wanted it to be longer.

[Cherie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short story that is creative and original. It easily could have been turned into a novel. It is an interesting and enjoyable quick read. It is a futuristic telling that seems that it could possibly happen.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 21 page short story is part of the Out of Line Collection which is currently available on Kindle Unlimited.

What happens when women step out of line and take control of their own lives?

All women are screened at 16 for their suitability to procreate and based on those results you are given a license to procreate or not and that's all I'm going to tell you because anything more would be a spoiler in this short story but know this is excellent.

I cant believe how much is packed into such few words. I could read a whole book set in this world.  I really enjoyed the different reactions and rules to being licensed or unlicensed as a woman.

I have been wanting to try this author for a while now and I'm fully convinced now that I need to read more from her.

This 7 book collection is exclusive to Amazon and a great way to try out some new authors.

[Julie Ehlers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another lackluster stop on my journey through the Amazon standalone short stories. A lot of this seemed derivative of The Handmaid's Tale and the parts that weren't didn't make much sense; I think more world-building was in order here. Also, the point of view switches midway through to a character who's almost cartoonish in her horribleness. It eventually switches back, but the additional viewpoint wasn't necessary and the story would have been better without it. I liked Gay's An Untamed State, so I'm not giving up on her fiction, but this was not a great reading experience.

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars for Graceful Burdens: out of line series by Roxane Gay read by Samira Wiley.

This is a short story about a world where you have to have a license to have a child and the unlicensed are allowed to check babies out of the library to help soothe their desires.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is from the "Out of line" collection, and what what I know, the primary subject matter, is women taking control. This one, was in a dystopian setting, and the women are ruled by people, that choose whether or not you are fit to raise a child. If you are deemed unfit to be a Mother, you can always loan a child, at the local library, just like Hadley did, and this is her story.

The writing was accessible, and the characters were developed enough despite the length of this story.

I thought the idea behind this was intriguing, if not a little strange, but I think it was certainly worth the read.

[aPriL does feral sometimes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roxane Gay crucifies male conservative reactionaries in ‘Graceful Burdens’. I LOVED this short novella! I also hated this short novella, because it is now possible it could actually happen in some form.

I have copied the book blurb because it is accurate:

”From New York Times bestselling author Roxane Gay comes an unforgettable tale of nightmarish bureaucracy in which genetic profiling has redefined the “unfit mother.”

A trip to the library prompts one woman to question her fate in this galvanizing short story. For a woman like Hadley, deemed not acceptable to procreate, there’s only one recourse. Unlicensed for motherhood, she can alleviate her grief and frustration at a “baby library,” where a curiously endless supply of infants is available for a two-week loan. But the borrowed life that serves as a temporary balm leads to a journey of self-discovery that will forever change the direction of Hadley’s future.

Roxane Gay’s Graceful Burdens is part of Out of Line, an incisive collection of funny, enraging, and hopeful stories of women’s empowerment and escape. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.”

Spoiler: none of the characters are men! While men have created a patriarchy controlling women’s bodies utterly, the story is only from the viewpoint of women, and how they are living under this strange fictionalized patriarchal society of America. When men take control of American laws to legalize male power over women, restructuring society to forbid women from deciding what rights women have in reproduction decisions, it ALWAYS leads to extremely bent laws. Full stop.

I was alive in the real-life era before women could control their reproductive choices, when birth control was illegal in America, when abortion was illegal in America until mid-20th century, when unmarried pregnant girls were turned into immoral pariahs even if raped by their fathers. Men who raped did not lose any social standing, unlike women, indeed, males were often protected by laws and the police.

Married women were respected only for being housewives and mothers and beauty, and not for any other attributes, like intelligence or their education. Being an intelligent or educated female ruined her in the opinion of most men, made her unsuitable for marriage. If a woman wanted children, she had to obey and live and have children under the laws made and designed for male privilege. If a woman did not want children, she was often forced to have children anyway. There were no female escapees from male domination of women’s bodies. I am not kidding or exaggerating. I was there. Watch 1950 American ‘family’ movies. They are my proof. Worse, in these mainstream movies all of the actresses are forced into taking the only scripted roles available for them if they wanted to work as actresses: of always appearing happy and fulfilled in being wives and mothers. They all must work onscreen and off on staying beautiful for the eyes and pleasure of men, and the camera.

I saw the results of enforced motherhood in America, the results of women’s bodies under the strict control and command of men, amplified by forbidding women to have their own money under any circumstances, even if she was allowed to work by the men in her life. The work of women, if they worked in a paid job, was considered too shameful and disgusting for men to do: the paid jobs which involved serving others, like cleaning, nursing, teaching. Equal pay for equal work was a laughable concept, especially since women were forbidden to attend many colleges or if permitted to attend a college, forbidden to study any STEM classes or get a STEM degree or job. The real social calamities of all women, no matter their financial or physical resources, no matter if they wanted children or not, or how many children they wanted, was of being forced to have or not have children, or what numbers of children to conceive, decided by only a man, never the woman. If she DARED to choose to have a baby or not have a baby, to make the decision without a man’s input, heaven help her. Of course, every original text of all religions around the world hates any equality of the genders and the majority of religious texts preach against the autonomy of women, a fact which has been airbrushed over in Western countries.

And now, male domination and control over women’s bodies is back in many American states, using the law, religion and force.

[Stephanie ~~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roxane Gay. Knows. How. To. Write. Badass. Feminist. Literature.
PerioDt.
Seriously though, this is twenty pages of, "Let me give you something to think about," that isn't terribly far fetched at all. Ladies in the United States, you'll be getting good and uncomfortable given the current policies governing the reproductive healthcare decisions of women. ~

[* A Reader Obsessed * · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

In the spirit of The Handmaid’s Tale, this touches on identity and self worth all wrapped up in reproductive rights and basic human freedoms as this world will only allow one to reproduce if they have just the right genetic code.

Thought provoking, this kept my interest with a hopeful ending.

Currently free for Amazon Prime members

[♡ Dakota ♡ (Sarcasm is my middle name) · Rating 4 out of 5]

★ ★ ★ ★ — Four Stars!

Down Below I have included my favorite quotes and sections of the book:

— QUOTES/FAVORITE SECTIONS —

“Many unlicensed women took to other women because they had no need to put up with men.”

“She would grow into a handsome woman, the kind who resented being told she was handsome because she understood that to be handsome was to be not pretty and to be not pretty was to be invisible.”

“She wanted to run with the child so the child’s future would not be dictated by whether or not she could mother.”

“A woman meant to be a mother would have probably been more concerned for the baby’s safety, for her own safety. But she also knew some lives mattered and some lives didn’t.”

“The girl she had been worried about the tone of her voice and the manner of her words. The woman she had become had no need for such affectations.”

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gay presents a disturbing, dystopian view of a world where reproductive freedom is controlled by the government, only not in the way you may think. Instead of outlawing abortion, this fictional governing body, in a bizarre form of eugenics, seeks only to allow certain individuals to reproduce. Women who are not judged as qualified to raise "acceptable" children? Why, they only need to visit the local library, and check out an infant to assuage their baby hunger.

This one grabbed me right from the first sentence, and didn't let go. A fascinating freebie for Amazon Prime members.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful short fiction highlighting the dangers of government controlling all aspects of our lives. Women are resilient and there will always be those brave enough to resist.

[H.A. Leuschel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping, thought-provoking short story!

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love dystopian novels and this short story was so good, I wished it were a novel!

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A handmaid's tale-esque short story. I enjoyed this short read, It’s a bit dark but very thought provoking..

[☆ lydiature ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a little too real, especially when you consider the election results 😗

[Obsidian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did like this one, but thought there were too many holes in the story to truly give it five stars. Also the whole borrow a baby thing was just bizarre and felt like it would be more suited to a Black Mirror episode where you don't have to set that up. Since this was a short story, I thought that Doctor Gay left too many questions for me while reading and the end. I still did think it was a solid piece of story-telling though.

"Graceful Burdens" is set in a world where some women are allowed to procreate, and others are not. In this new world due to your genetic material you are deemed worthy of giving birth and having a child. Even if your genetic material is deemed not great, if you are rich enough you can spend enough to get a designer baby of your own. The story then shifts when we follow a young woman named Hadley who leaves her Mormon family when she is deemed unable/unfit to have a baby. The story follows her as she goes off to borrow a baby from the library (yes this is a thing). The story also follows a woman who marries and gives birth to two children and wonders why she did any of those things.

I think if the story had just stayed with Hadley it would have worked better. I think when we jump to the mother with the two kids in order to tie the story to two other characters down the line the book loses its mojo at that point.

I do like the questions the story asks though, what do you become once you are deemed unfit by society. We have Hadley reacting in different ways and still longing for children. She just didn't want to be forced to stay with her family and raise her siblings.

The ending felt off to me though. If there is really this super society out there tracking babies and stuff it seems a bit out there something like this can actually have been set up without anyone noticing.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

This had quite a hard hitting beginning which really caught my attention. A dystopian future where babies are the issue in this troubled world; only a few privileged and genetically perfect women are allowed to conceive. So as you might expect we have women who want to be mothers and are denied the chance and visa versa, rather obviously.

It did make me think but it was so baby focused I couldn’t quite empathise, also it seemed like men and women just didn’t like each other any more, let alone love, all because of babies.

Sadly this was too short to be much of anything, I suppose it’s a starting point for your own thoughts but as a story it falls short, because it is too short. It would/could be a great story if it had more detail and explanations but as it was I felt half the story was missing.

[Bobbieshiann · Rating 5 out of 5]

So short but worth the read. Gay has found a way to emphasize the lack of control women have over their own bodies. How there is an "order" to be considered worthy or not. Not being able to reproduce lessons your value and you are now limited to renting a baby from a library or being a helper. Gay shows what happens when women break free of the norm and start to reconnect with themselves versus societies structure.

[Kay ☾ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it in one night. I need a full novel with all these characters and their complex issues in a messed up world that Roxane created. I loved it!

[Lucie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Topical

As expected a well written story by Roxane Gay. An interesting world was crafted in such few words, made more horrifying by how close I believe we are to it.

[Natasha Niezgoda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This needed to be longer. Ugh, it was just on the cusp of brilliant.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roxane Gay has done it again! She never fails to take my breath away or draw me so deeply into a story. Only 21 pages, but each page packs a punch.

I love dystopian novels and Graceful Burdens takes us into this alternate [or not so distant] future and shows the effects of the government dictating what women can and cannot do with their bodies. Only those they deem fit can have kids. Those that aren't as worthy aren't allowed kids, and, if they have them, the kids end up just as the government sees them, slaves.

"It absolved the Federated States of their culpability in thinking they had any right to control who bore children and who did not."

A poignant book just in time for us to focus in on what really matters before elections.

[Maike · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the alternate reality of Graceful Burdens, you have to pass a genetic screening to be allowed to have children. Those who fail can only numb their desperation and longing by checking out babies from the library. Yes, a two week loan, no, renewals are not allowed. One has to wonder – where do these library infants come from?

Full review on our blog.

[PalmPages · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good!
Too short!

[Satomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish this short story was a full length novel.

This book is written by Roxane Gay and I am convinced that it is. This is something she likely to write.

[Aneesha (booksandbrownies) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: ⭐ 4/5

Graceful Burdens is set in a not-so-distant dystopian future, where only a few genetically perfect (licensed) women are allowed to conceive. Unlicensed women, who are not allowed to reproduce, are reduced to just being helpers or "renting" babies from public libraries for a couple of days to satiate their motherly instincts.

This short story manages to effectively communicate the lack of control that women have over their own bodies. It also highlights the fact that women are resilient and there will always be those who resist.

I really enjoyed this thought-provoking novella. But it should have been a full-length novel! I'm definitely going to check out more of the author's work.