KNEE BRACE PRESS

A place for stories about chronic illness, disability, mental health, and neurodivergence.

Essays

  • Leo Castaneda-Pineda

    Battered Brain

    By

    Leo Castaneda-Pineda traces their post-concussion syndrome back to a game of soccer at the age of 11. In their essay, Castaneda-Pineda talks about how their condition evolved, the struggles of making their voice heard to doctors and learning to own “the disability label.”

  • A white man with dark hair wearing a black jacket over a red button up. He is standing in front of a leafy green backdrop.

    Who’s helping whom here?

    By

    In his essay, Harry Smith discusses his disabilities, the pressure he feels to live up to societal expectations, and the affect popular portrayals of disability have in the real world.

  • The back of a person sitting in a desert. Her hair is dark brown and short. She wears a gray T-shirt.

    Brain Zaps

    By

    In this essay for Knee Brace Press, C. Taylor discusses the dueling sensations of taking and missing her pills.

  • A woman with short, gray hair smiles at the camera. She wears round, black-rimmed glasses; a green, beaded necklace; and a blue-gray sweater.

    Elderly Changes: Adapting to Life in a Wheelchair

    By

    Essayist Susan Blank writes about life as a wheelchair user, getting older, and what it all means in the context of womanhood.

  • A white woman smiling with her mouth closed. She has long, chestnut hair and wears pink lipstick.

    Being Sick is Expensive

    By

    Ashley Sheesley, a disabled author and scientist, writes on the cost of disability and the struggles that come with it, even when you’re “lucky.”

  • My X-Ray Vision

    By

    When he was a kid, Brenton Fisher’s response to, “Why do your eyes look like that?” became, “Because I have X-ray vision.”

  • A person in a brown tanktop and a white helmet climbing a rope and smiling at the camera.

    Hiding in Plain Sight: Life With and Without Masks

    By

    “I feel faint. Even a common cold leaves me sick for months and sometimes lands me in the emergency room. I have been assiduously masking since the beginning of the pandemic and so far, to the best of my knowledge, have avoided catching COVID. I will not be able to wear my mask for the…

  • A white person with round glasses and short, yellow hair taking a selfie. Xe wears a pink and blue striped button up over a black tanktop.

    We Didn’t Choose You

    By

    It’s the apocalypse! But will disabled survivors be left behind? This is a question Viktor Bruso explores in xir essay, We Didn’t Choose You.

  • A white man with ginger hair and a beard speaking into a microphone.

    Still Life With Pain

    By

    In his first essay for Knee Brace Press, Lev Raphael writes about the connections he shares with his late mother, including her coffee habits, her love of languages, and her arthritis.

  • A white woman with a brown bob smiles at the camera. She wears black, square-rimmed glasses and a gold necklace.
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    All In My Head

    By

    Journalist and author Emily Dwass shares an excerpt from her book, Diagnosis Female: How Medical Bias Endangers Women’s Health.