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Mental health struggles, self-sabotage, rock bottom, psychiatric admissions, having the "wrong" facial expressions and tone of voice, an intra-op assault accusation, grief, discrimination, bad teachers, big emotions, and creativity.

In this episode, Dr. Cindy Lee Neighbors shares her experience as a creative, passionate, and vocal presence in a system that couldn’t handle her. Her story highlights the immense emotional toll when training programs target their trainees.

I was definitely a troublemaker in residency too, and I watched other troublemakers get pushed out—just like Dr. Neighbors was. But are the troublemakers really the problem? Or are they the solution?

Cindy Lee Neighbors is a physician, writer, and advocate for mental health, education reform, and women's rights. Born and raised in Honolulu, she pursued her dreams of acting in Los Angeles before embarking on a career in military medicine. Her debut memoir, TOO MUCH, is a raw and honest account of her experiences navigating mental health challenges and fighting for change within the demanding field of military medicine. She won a 2024-2025 Reader Views Readers Choice Gold Prize in Humanities and was a Finalist in Memoir/Biography/Autobiography.

TOO MUCH is a gripping true story of a woman driven to the brink, sacrificing everything—love, loyalty, and sanity—in the name of retribution. It's a raw and honest look at the dark side of medicine, the challenges of mental illness, and the courage it takes to break free. It’s a story that will remind you how a brighter future is possible, even when it feels like everything is broken. This is the story of a whistleblower.

Find Dr. Cindy Lee Neighbors on instagram @cindyleeneighbors @surgerylandbooks @toomuchthebook, her websigte, www.cindyleeneighbors.com, and LinkedIN Cindy Lee Neighbors

TOO MUCH can be purchased from Amazon here, Barnes and Noble here, and Strand Book store here. Get Benji and Briana Become Booger Doctors here.

Here's that poem she talks about in our discussion and submitted to The Pharos:

I actually miss

The stupid little things

Retracting

In the OR

Suturing

People

Wearing a headlight

Starving

Not being able to pee

Freezing

Standing on a stool

Bumping heads

Having to suction the blood

Adjusting my loops “loupes”

Holding my breath

Because of the plume

Praying

Not to kill someone

Even though I know that doesn’t change thin