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.
It’s only 5:30 p.m., but it feels later, probably because I’m writing this in the back of my family’s van, the pitch black of Minnesota’s winter broken by car headlights and the occasional billboard. We’re on our way to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where we’ll be…
Holidays are a point of contention for many people. Most of us spend the month of December attending holiday parties and family get-togethers, watching television commercials, and humming along to Christmas carols on the radio. My personal care attendant (PCA) and I were saying just…
A few days ago, my parents and I were reminiscing around our dining table. I’m not sure how we got onto the topic of ambulances and hospital visits. Maybe I mentioned my brush with anaphylaxis a few weeks ago and how weird it was to…
A few weeks ago, I attended one of the National Institute of Mental Health state conferences to fulfill a class requirement. It was an all-day affair, with tote bags and name tags and a catered luncheon. It was all very professional, and as a result,…
Every time I think I’ve run out of things to write about, life throws me a curveball. Over the past couple of years, I’ve been getting allergy shots on a pretty regular basis. The science behind allergy shots might seem a bit counterintuitive:…
There comes a point in every SMA patient’s life when someone asks, “Why are you in a wheelchair?” I like to think I’ve gotten pretty good at answering that question. I’ve done the research; I’ve looked up all the scientific terms; I’ve been through my fair…
There are, in my experience, two kinds of depressive episodes. The first leaves one lifeless and frowning. When I’m that kind of depressed, I watch “Critical Role“ while scrolling through Pinterest, or berate myself for not doing something productive while…
I’ve done some arguably ridiculous things over the past two decades in the name of health. I’ve had metal rods surgically implanted in my back to keep my spine from curving. I’ve had tubes shoved up my nose and down my throat. I’ve driven to the…
I’ve quoted my favorite poet, Ada Limón, several times throughout the history of this column. Her poems “The Leash” and “Instructions on Not Giving Up” have been key…
“For the most part, my solutions to human problems have been simple ones—get more rest, do good work, take things a day at a time, and find some people to love.” –Mary Pipher, “Letters to a Young Therapist” It’s getting to be…
