The Disability Book Archive

[ID: A book cover. Down the right side of the cover, from the top, the title “Nine of Swords, Reversed” in white caps, stopping a third of the way down. The author’s name “Xan West” is at the bottom of the cover in smaller lilac caps. The cover shows art of two people in a bedroom. The walls of the room are green and blue striped. The bed has posts and a purple curtain at the top, with a blue pillow, purple sheet, pink top sheet and blue blanket. A person is sitting in the bed, wearing a long purple piece of clothing and a bob of curly orange hair. Another person sits on the floor, with short curly dark hair and wearing glasses, a green hoodie, blue jeans and black boots. A black walking cane is propped against the wall. Besides the bed, a small table with a tray of food. /end]

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Content Warning:

From the author’s website, linked here:

• Depictions of Autistic Meltdown
• Depictions of Chronic Pain
• Descriptions of Chronic Pain and Brain Fog
• References to Emotionally Abusive Ex
• References to Ableist Abuse
• References to Gender Policing
• References to Transmisogyny and Targeting of Non-Binary Character
• References to Past Trauma
• Internalised Ableism and Toxic Masculinity
• References to Death of A Sibling
• References to Malevolent Ghosts
• References and Descriptions of Dream Vision Depicting Partner’s Death
• “Queer” and “Faggot” Used As Reclaimed Slurs
• Consensual Kink- Service Based Submission in Particular
• References to Pain Play- No Actual Depiction

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Summary:

Dev has been with xyr service submissive Noam for seven years and xe loves them very much. Dev and Noam have built a good life together in Noam’s family home in Oakland, where they both can practice their magecraft, celebrate the high holidays in comfort, support each other as their disabilities flare, and where Noam can spend Shabbos with their beloved family ghost.

But Dev’s got a problem: xe has had so much arthritis pain recently that xe has not been able to shield properly. As an empath, no shielding means Dev cannot safely touch Noam. That has put a strain on their relationship, and it feels like Noam is pulling away from xym. To top it off, Dev has just had an upsetting dream-vision about xyrself and Noam that caused one of the biggest meltdowns xe has had in a while. It’s only with a timely tarot reading and the help of another genderfluid mage that Dev is able to unpack the situation. Can xe figure out how to address the issues in xyr relationship with Noam before everything falls apart?

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Notes:

There is no physical copy of the book that I can find.

There is an ebook and there is a kindle edition.

It’s linked above but in case you missed it, follow this link to a page on the author’s website about this book.

And here is a link to another page on the author’s website, detailing story notes that I referenced for this entry.

According to those notes, this book is set in 2018 and the ages of the characters are as follows:

• Dev: 48 Years Old
• Ezra: 48 Years Old
• Noam: 36 Years Old

There is a content warning list in the book. There is also a note in the book on the pronunciation of non-binary terms and a note at the end about how to write a review, focusing on how to discuss gender, pronouns and certain honorifics.

This book cover was designed by artist Layla Rose.

Other works by West:

• Their Troublesome Crush

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Archivist Comments:

I made a note on this that said something like “Sweet 👏 Character 👏 Communication 👏 finally“.

[Plain Text: Sweet (hand clapping emoji) Character (hand clapping emoji) Communication (hand clapping emoji) finally (italics)”]

I was wrong actually. According to some reviews, I forgot to factor in the angst. /j /lh

I’ve been using the author’s website (linked above), the PDF version of this book, and reviews for information.

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