The Wolf Finally Frees Itself - a column by Brianna Albers

finding a good doctor | SMA News Today | banner image for column titled "The Wolf Finally Frees Itself," 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.

I’m Ready for Whatever the Future Brings

I sat down this morning with the intention of writing a completely different column. Something about tattoos. I’ve been trying to get one since 2015, and finally, after years of searching, I’ve found an artist with my dream art style who works in a semi-accessible building…

My Journey Toward Greater Independence

A few weeks ago, a friend told me I had to see “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” It was everything I loved, with amazing graphics, she said, so I couldn’t just rent it when it releases on DVD. I had to see it in theaters.

With the New Year Comes Home Renovation

I’ve mentioned a couple of times that I don’t think I could live in the middle of nowhere. My parents want nothing more than to raise a few goats in rural Wisconsin, where they recently bought their “forever home,” a small farmhouse with decent acreage. I, however, would…

A Surprising Start to 2019

Professional writing has always been a bit of a dream job. As a college freshman, I realized that my idea of writing didn’t exactly coincide with academic writing, which had me taking juvenile literature classes and, the bane of my existence in 2013, British literature courses.

The Year of the Philosopher King

Just like every year, I spent the last few days of 2018 and the first few days of 2019 reflecting on life; specifically, what my life has looked like until this point and what I want it to look like going forward. It seems like every…

Balancing Brain and Body

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…

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

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…

From My Family to Yours

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…

Finding Gratitude in the Waves

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,…

Adventures with Anaphylaxis

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:…