The Train Rides End and the Great Work Begins
We won’t die secret deaths anymore. The world only spins forward. We will be citizens. The time has come. Bye now. You are fabulous creatures, each and…
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.
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Putting yourself — your whole self — out there is a challenge
I prefer to write columns after everything is said and done. It’s why I didn’t tell you all about my dad’s cancer until I knew he was going to be OK. I write…
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Stoked About an Amtrak Residency That Will Let Me Write While Traveling by Train
On Saturday, May 27, I’ll be boarding an Amtrak train at Union Depot in St. Paul, Minnesota, at some god-awful time in the morning. You can tell my mom…
Video Games, but at What Cost?
I don’t want to spend too much time talking about video games — mainly because I know some of my readers have never played one. However, for my last…
Disabled and Proud of My ‘Cyborg’ Self
Game developers will never embrace accessibility — unless they realize how much the medium means to disabled people. So, continuing with the theme of last week’s…
Video Game Platforming, But from a Wheelchair with a Mouse
I want to talk a bit more about game accessibility this week. But, unlike last week, I’m going to offer up some actual, concrete experiences that…
Why Can’t Games Like ‘Battlefront’ Be Bit More SMA Friendly?
I don’t really consider myself a gamer these days. I enjoy video games, and will occasionally take the day off to play the newest Star Wars: The Old Republic…
Illness Becomes Chronic, But I’m Taking ‘My Shot’
The surgeon didn’t find anything wrong with my lungs. They are, in her words, “perfectly clear.” Still, there was a significant amount of congestion around my voice box, which apparently…
Some Progress, but Fear of the Bronchoscopy That’s Coming
I wish I could say things have become better since I wrote about my current health issues a few weeks ago. But for the most part they haven’t. My chest isn’t as tight as…
Eating a Monster Meal with Friends
Last night, I asked my dad what I should write about for my next column about life with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). “Why you don’t write about the struggles you…
Turning Improbabilities into Possibilities
I experimented with highlights in middle school. I wanted to get this professionally done, but my mother, who’s been dyeing her own hair for probably longer than I’ve been alive, insisted we…
All a Question of Time: Is There Enough?
Last August, I inhaled something. I wasn’t too worried. It might take a few days, but usually when I inhale something, it comes out on its own. But this time it…
A Storyteller’s Tale: On Being Seen
I have called myself a writer for the longest time, and in many ways, I suppose I still do. I am, after all, a writer. But I have long since changed my…
