‘Don’t Tell Me What I Can’t Do’: How ‘Lost’ Navigates Disability
When it comes to “Lost,” you either hate it, love it, or don’t get why people feel so strongly about it. I’m in the second camp, which is to say I feel strongly about…
The Wolf Finally Frees Itself
— 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 “An Angel in the Garden,” an adult space fantasy with #OwnVoices disability representation. Find her online at briannahopealbers.com and on social media @briehalbers.
Featured Post
With cancer in the family, my SMA has been out of the spotlight
I’ve been putting off this column for months, I guess in the hopes that it’d become easier to write. I didn’t want to go public until I knew for sure that everything was going…
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For the Love of Frozen Breakfast Food
For the longest time, winters were a joyful occasion. It wasn’t that I liked the snow, or the sickness, or the slog of self-isolation. I didn’t want to stay home for a third of…
Who I Am: My Journey From Internalized Ableism to Belonging
I didn’t have many friends growing up. Part of it was the disability. Part of it was the mental illness — social anxiety, depression, and a dash of trauma for good measure. And…
I’m Learning to Embrace a New Shoe
I’m notorious for despising new wheelchairs. It’s not just the discomfort. It’s the painstaking process of calibration — tweaking and experimenting and grumbling under my breath, because my head needs to be tilted a…
In ‘Care Work,’ Grief Is the Garden of Our Dreams
Many, many weeks ago, I said I was going to read “Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice” by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha. In a month. Reader, I was wrong. I was busy revising my…
This Year, I Want to Be Brave
Inspired by Susannah Conway, I’ve started to assign a word — yes, a single word — to the upcoming year, as a kind of landmark. Something to focus on as I go through the…
I Can’t Get Evrysdi Yet, Thanks to a Broken Healthcare System
I may have thrown a fit about genetic testing, but at the end of the day, it was easier than most things. The genetic counselor sent me the test in the mail. (I’m…
Yes, Actually, Smart Tech Is Integral to My Quality of Life
The two most common words in the Albers household are probably “Hey, Google.” (That’s not strictly true. I tell my parents I love them more than I should, because I’m a sap, and my…
Living With Disability Can Be a Small ‘t’ Trauma
Content warning: The following contains discussions of trauma and death. Sometimes I forget that I have, like, an actual degree in counseling. People come to me for advice, and it takes me a hot…
My Period Reminds Me of the Inevitability of Disease Progression
Once every few weeks, I’m reminded of my own mortality. A lot of folks dread their period. It’s a definitively unpleasant time between the cramps and the blood and the hormonal mood swings that…
I’m Disappointed, and That’s OK
Can I be real for a minute? Totally honest? Maybe even a little bit of a downer? I’m disappointed. 2020 was supposed to be my year. I had all sorts of plans — tattoos…
Hope, Uncertainty, and Shooting for the Stars
I’m lucky in that, for the most part, I don’t have trouble falling asleep. I am, of course, perpetually exhausted, which probably plays a role, but I like to think I learned a thing…
