Brianna Albers,  —

Brianna Albers (she/her) is a crip-cyborg storyteller living in Minneapolis-St. Paul. She was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy type 2 in 1996 and lives with co-occurring physical and mental health conditions. By day she works as an advocate, bridging disability and mental health awareness to empower people to live their best lives; by night, she dabbles in imagination, and is currently writing "Death and the Blade," an adult romantasy with #OwnVoices disability representation. Find her online at bhalbers.com and on social media @bhalbers.

Articles by Brianna Albers

Persistence is key when living with SMA

On a rainy day in April, I write the final words of my third novel: “The End.” If you follow me on social media, you’ll know this book has not been without its hiccups. I won’t get into the nitty-gritty of it, largely because I chronicled everything on Substack,…

When growing older, surviving SMA is more than enough

I’m listening to my caregiver’s daughter talk about life as a first grader when I realize … I’m old. I don’t know when it happened. One minute, I was graduating high school, and the next I was turning 30. The thought is terrifying. Where did all that time go?…

How a clogged feeding tube brought me to the edge of death

Content warning: This column discusses medical trauma. Last in a series. Read part one here.  I knew something was wrong when I started throwing up. After an eight-hour wait in an emergency room far from home, I’d finally gotten my feeding tube replaced — not by a medical professional,…

When a last-minute trip takes a turn for the worse

Content warning: This column discusses medical trauma. First in a series. Who really knows what time it is? 11? 12? 1? Time blurs when you’re on the precipice of something that will throw a wrench in all of your plans. I’m lying in bed in our newly purchased recreational…

A look back at 2023, a year of contraction

On a Sunday morning in mid-November, I opened my email to a newsletter from one of my favorite writers, Catherine Andrews. In it, she named the past 15 years of her life as being particularly contractive. She struggled with everything, from her relationship with alcohol to dating and creativity.