KNEE BRACE PRESS

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

Short Stories

  • My Body, Myself

    By

    A Play in One Short Act Cast of Characters MYSELF: 60-year-old woman with dislocated kneecap MY BODY: Gruff offstage voice PlaceMyself’s home TimeDaytime Setting: Living room with couch and coffee table At Rise: Myself sits on couch, leg on coffee table, ice pack on knee. MY BODY (angrily) Happy now? Is this how you wanted…

  • Blissful Peace

    By

    The blinding sunshine and a cloudless sky make every yellow-green bush, mono-hued house, and dappled stray cat in the neighborhood look shiny. Freshly-mown grass mixed with dirt and hot asphalt perfume the air. Dead leaves litter the sidewalk with dewdrops reflecting sunlight like glitter.  In the shadow of a big oak tree, a crow hops…

  • Meeting Van Gogh

    By

    For the first time after nearly half a century, I finally returned to Songzi, where I decided to spend a whole week trying to fulfill my growing nostalgic needs. 

  • The One-Way Mirror

    By

    Some men are breast men. Others are ass men. Will Donahue was an elbow man. 

  • Bodily Repairs

    By

    In each hand, I grip the exercise band and pull until the band is a taut swath of lime green. My nose twitches at the synthetic smell of rubber, as unnatural as the band’s color.

  • A sepia photo of a white man with white hair, a goatee, and wire-frame glasses. He wears a suit and tie and is smiling at the camera.

    Mr. Snuggles goes to the Zoo

    By

    Jane Clayton and her dog, Mr. Snuggles, decide to have a great adventure together after they both receive the same diagnosis.

  • A man with brown skin, glasses, dark black hair, and a goatee. He stands against the railing in front of a brick building.

    We’ve Got You Covered 

    By

    In this short, speculative story by V.M. Sawh, insurance is even more of a nightmare than it is IRL.

  • Nude

    By

    There it is. Printed for you; digitalized for all the world to see.

  • Geneviève Laprise

    Lies of a Mother

    By

    She needs me to be strong. My heart aches for her pain, the pain I have unknowingly given her.

  • Conversation at Utah State Hospital, 2022

    By

    Her supervisor is impressed with her ability, but she can only think of Don. She feels too much, they tell her. It’s a strength and a curse. Now comes the worst part of her job.