KNEE BRACE PRESS

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

invisible disabilities

  • A white woman with short, brown hair gazes at the camera. She wears bright red lipstick, dangly silver earrings, and a black turtleneck sweater. The background is a white wall with yellow and pink tulips painted on it.

    Toothpaste

    By

    In Toothpaste, the essayist learns to live with PTSD as a result of illness, surgeries, and medical malpractice.

  • A white woman with long, brown hair gazes at the camera. She is indoors and the background is blurred. She wears a blue jacket over a yellow sweater.

    The Language of Learning

    By

    Most people assume that if you only know one language, that language was easy to learn. English and I still battle.

  • A white woman with long, brown hair gazes at the camera. She is indoors and the background is blurred. She wears a blue jacket over a yellow sweater.

    Notes from the Panini that Never Ends

    By

    For people like Caitlin Thomson and her family, a societal lack of COVID precautions is even more isolating than the early stages of the pandemic.

  • A woman with brown skin and long, brown hair gazes at the camera. She wears a pink shirt and a beaded black necklace.

    Biofeedback

    By

    “It’s my first time. I sink into cushy recliner. A monitor tracks blood pressure. The therapist adheres a finger sensor, a final electrode as I shut my eyes.”

  • Invalid Invalid

    By

    Eli Underwood is a writer, organizer, and archivist living with CPTSD, ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and Long Covid. Read their poem, Invalid Invalid.

  • 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.”

  • Chaos Confetti

    By

    For our one hundredth post at Knee Brace Press, poet Casey Sharp writes about her experience with ADHD.

  • A person with shoulder-length black hair. He is hiding behind a small bunch of white flowers.
    ,

    So

    By

    T.C. Long has also recorded an audio version of this piece, both to increase accessibility and to lend additional humanity and dimensionality to disabled folks in media.

  • A white person with long, blonde hair smiling at the camera. She is wearing a red and white plaid shirt.

    (DIS)ABILITY: A PALINDROME

    By

    In her latest poem, Sarah Steinbacher offers us a different perspective on disability and those who would have her doubt herself.

  • A pale, blonde person wearing red lipstick, orange-rimmed glasses, and a blue sweater with white clouds on it. She is standing against the backdrop of several pieces of art.

    Eppi Girl

    By

    In her short story for Knee Brace Press, Zianna Ruiha introduces us to Eppi Girl, a disabled people pleaser who wants nothing more than to tell her coworkers that her body is none of their business.