KNEE BRACE PRESS

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

chronic illness

  • A white woman with dark hair is smiling and looking off-camera. She wears a white, long sleeved shirt.

    Temporarily non-disabled

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    “My body holds a secret. It demands/to tell me, but won’t whisper it to you.” Poet Christa Fairbrother is back with a piece about invisible illnesses and the pressure to hide them.

  • A white woman with long, curly, brown hair. She is wearing a purple sweater and we can see her from the waist up. The background is white.

    An interview with Lillie Lainoff

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    For our seventy-fifth post at Knee Brace Press, we interviewed award-winning novelist Lillie Lainoff about POTS rep, feminist retellings, and her future writing plans in the context of her YA debut, One For All.

  • 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

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    “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 long, blonde hair smiling at the camera. She is wearing a red and white plaid shirt.

    All In My Head

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    In her poem, Sarah Steinbacher writes about medical gaslighting, invisible disabilities, and the link between mental and physical health.

  • A white woman with dark hair is smiling and looking off-camera. She wears a white, long sleeved shirt.

    A Villanelle for the Utensils

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    Christa Fairbrother’s poem A Villanelle for the Utensils is an ode to spoonies everywhere – and the effort it takes for us to complete the tasks others finish so easily.

  • A white person with dark, curly hair smiling at the camera with her mouth closed. They wear a black shirt.

    A Day in the Life With EDS

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    “My chest aches. A deeply centered tightness. A pain in the bones./I fight to breathe, bend or twist.” Poet Hannah Frost lets us in on her life with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

  • The photo is in black and white and depicts a white person with long, dark hair smiling to the right of the shot.

    How Many Steps in a Stairwell

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    In her newest poem for Knee Brace Press, the prolific Mandy Beattie asks, “How many footsteps in a full stop?”

  • 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

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    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

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    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.

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

    Still Life With Pain

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    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.