The Interactions That Stay with Me
A few weeks ago, my mom and I went to Junk Bonanza, a vintage market that’s held twice a year at the local horse racing track. I feel twice my age while I’m there, but it’s a chance for Mom and…
The Wolf Finally Frees Itself - a column by Brianna Albers
Brianna Albers (she/her) is a crip cyborg storyteller living in Minneapolis-St. Paul. In 2016, she founded Monstering, a magazine for disabled women and nonbinary people. She consults as a patient ambassador for SMA My Way and writes the column “The Wolf Finally Frees Itself” for SMA News Today. She is currently revising THE SAINT AND THE SPIDER, an adult space fantasy with #OwnVoices disability representation. Find her on social media @briehalbers.
Happiness Never Looks Like You Think It Will
As a kid, I assumed that happiness would be accompanied by a kiss in the rain, like the iconic scene between Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray in “A Cinderella Story.” Or that scene in “The Princess Diaries 2:…
Advocating for Myself on My Accutane Journey
In case you’re wondering, the miraculous acne medication, Accutane (isotretinoin), is as fun as it sounds. Accutane is a six-month program, which means I have three months left. The medication is definitely…
The Wolf Finally Frees Up Its Schedule
I was the kid with 50 different diaries. Usually pink with sparkles. Bonus points if they came with their own bejeweled pen, because what 9-year-old girl doesn’t like rhinestones? The issue is that I never used them. People would buy me diaries…
Learning the Importance of the SMA Community
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this year’s Cure SMA Conference. I’d attended only once before, but I was too young to care about anything except for the service dog that I met and for which I subsequently longed. I knew…
‘The Wolf Finally Frees Itself’: Revisiting the Title of My Column
Between the wheelchair, the pristine white Keds, and the pink baseball hat, I stand out. But I can’t say that I’m used to strangers stopping me in the middle of a reception hall so they can compliment my writing. “So you’re the famous columnist!” Am I?…
It’s a Wonderful Life Even When Travel Plans Go Awry
“You don’t have to feel guilty,” my therapist told me. “Just try to enjoy yourself. You won’t make the trip better for anyone by feeling guilty.” I made the mistake of telling my dad about this exchange, so whenever anything remotely inconvenient occurs, he says, “You…
Finding Serenity in the Eye of the Storm
If you’ve been keeping up with my column, you’ll know that my parents and I are essentially living in a no-fly zone (only our closest friends are allowed to visit because the house is a mess and also probably a health hazard). There…
Reining In My Illness Anxiety Is an Ongoing Effort
Before I knew what illness anxiety was, I made excuses for my ever-present fear of death by the common cold. “I was supposed to die at 9 years of age,” I tell people, watching their faces screw up with realization. “I shouldn’t be…
Learning Self-love from My PCA’s Daughter
When I first met Elena, my patient care assistant’s daughter, she was almost 2, with chubby cheeks and golden ringlets of hair. She was shy — painfully so. It took her months to warm up to me, and even then she…
