Pirate by Parrot

Mel was dying by inches and wasn't having fun. Her brother was dead, her niece was trying to take care of things, and her brother's parrot was cursing a blue streak.

Leaving Earth for a reset sounded simple, but she was too large for the canisters and had to be launched across space in a separate ship, still growing. She goes through three species who want her genetics, but the first two drop out, and finally, she wakes up on a space station with gravity so strong she can barely stand up.

Mel meets the station, watches her parrot enjoy the heavy-gravity flight and tries to get a handle on what happens next when no one will tell her what is going on.

She takes a new friend home, heads back to her shuttle, and accidentally sparks an incident that puts a price on her head but helps her gain perspective. Mel has a place in the stars, and she is finding it.