KNEE BRACE PRESS

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

april mccloud

  • A black and white photo of a woman with long hear reading a book. She is sitting by a window and wears a light-colored sweater.

    Pill-chinko

    By

    Red oblong, 3x… AM. Clink. LUNCH. Clink. DINNER. Clink. Repeat… 21

  • A white woman with light brown hair smiling with her mouth closed. The photo is a selfie. Also pictured: a bookcase in the background and a (really cute) brown and black cat.

    Our Disabilities

    By

    In her new poem, April McCloud describes her experience as a disabled person having disabled friends.

  • A white woman with light brown hair smiling with her mouth closed. The photo is a selfie. Also pictured: a bookcase in the background and a (really cute) brown and black cat.

    Invisible Disability

    By

    Is your disability invisible, or is it not real at all? In her newest poem, April McCloud tackles medical gaslighting, self doubt, and more in a single declaration.

  • On the left: A white person with brown hair, colorful glasses, and purple lipstick wearing a blue shirt. On the right:A white woman with light brown hair smiling with her mouth closed. The photo is a selfie. Also pictured: a bookcase in the background and a (really cute) brown and black cat.

    Reason

    By ,

    In their new poem Reason, Knee Brace alumni Elise Scott and April McCloud write about the stark contrast between the speaker’s devastation about losing their healthcare and the calm with which the robot over the phone changed the speaker’s life forever.

  • A white woman with light brown hair smiling with her mouth closed. The photo is a selfie. Also pictured: a bookcase in the background and a (really cute) brown and black cat.

    Application for Disability 

    By

    Poet April McCloud (she/her, 1% bionic human) writes about her complex relationship with disability in the form of an application.