KNEE BRACE PRESS

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

mental health

  • 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.

  • An interview with Tatiana Schlote-Bonne

    By

    “Without the doppelganger, I think Such Lovely Skin would still be an interesting (albeit less entertaining) story about grief and self-forgiveness, and those kinds of horror stories where the human component is still really compelling without the monster are my favorite. The monster just heightens everything that’s already there.”

  • Vulture

    By

    “Our love laid thick and bitter on my tongue/I choked it down as not to spit/I laughed so not to lunge.”

  • A white woman with short, light brown hair smiles at the camera. She wears blue-rimmed glasses and a pink polo shirt.

    Straight

    By

    Poet and retired physical therapist Barbara Brooks writes a poem about the S curve of her spine, the pain that comes with it, and the peace that comes with knowing there is nothing she can do to change it.

  • A tabby cat sleeps on a purple shirt. Her paws are tucked under her head. She might just be the cutest cat ever.

    How to Fall in Love

    By

    In her short story, Wiltshire-based writer Jessica Cook relays how to fall in love with someone who will inevitably leave.

  • A white person with short, brown hair. They are smiling at the camera with their mouth closed. The background of the photo is brick.

    At The Top

    By

    “When I question my upbringing,/my therapist draws a peak./Tells me all religions glimpse/different angles of the same structure.”

  • Constant Reminder

    By

    In his prose poem, survivor Phil Scearce writes about what it’s like to live after recovering from cancer.

  • A white man with shoulder-length white hair and a white beard.

    True Enough

    By

    “Her dying happened in slow motion, like in a/dream you know is a dream but you/can’t wake up from.”

  • A white woman with long, light brown hair wearing a black jacket and green pants. She smiles at the camera and stands in front of a large clock.

    Cabin Fever

    By

    Grace F. Hopkins has been collecting myths and urban legends since she “wasted” her undergraduate degree studying English, Classics, and folklore. Read her poem at the link below.

  • A white man with shoulder-length white hair and a white beard.

    On Deck

    By

    Alan Abrams writes about grief, love, and baseball in his latest poem for Knee Brace Press.