KNEE BRACE PRESS

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

Short Stories

  • 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 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.

  • Constant Reminder

    By

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

  • A black and white photo of a white man in a button-up flannel smiling at the camera. He is sitting outside on a bench. His hair is dark and shoulder-length and he has a short beard.

    Tangerine Strands

    By

    “And outside of this customary exchange, outside of this playground within a playground, Lucretia felt relief, for the little girl and boy had yet again successfully avoided recreating the history that had taken place there.”

  • 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.

  • A white man with a shaved head and light brown eyes gazing at the camera. He wears a navy hoodie.

    Leverage

    By

    “Now you can’t help thinking that the first call being made is to order beer. You look up at Jerry, knowing you should say something, then look down helplessly at all these pieces of the disassembled frame as if they are parts of a puzzle you know in your heart won’t fit together.”

  • A white woman with dark hair tied back into a bun. She wears a blue dress with a black belt. She is speaking or singing in front of a music stang.

    Suicide Simulation

    By

    Imagine a world where suicide can be simulated through virtual reality. This is the context of Ericka Russell’s short story, Suicide Simulation, and the basis for the ethics the main character must grapple with.

  • A person with long, dark hair smiles as she looks off to the left. She wears a pink shirt with pink, purple, and blue flowers on it.

    Submergence

    By

    “You are born drowning. At the bottom of the ocean, your lungs fill with saltwater and sludge. Anglerfish light the immutable night, bright white spots catching on their jagged teeth and misshapen eyes.”

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

    Spoons

    By

    EJ Croll’s speculative short story, Spoons, is about their own experience of chronic fatigue, chronic pain, and the frustration of living with these limitations.

  • Searching for Bunker Norms

    By

    It’s the end of the world. Then again, we Spoonies have always been able to adapt. While the non-disabled, richest one percent were hidden underground in bunkers during the catastrophe, a network spearheaded by a disabled woman had secretly gathered to protect the most disregarded of the population.