What happens when the people
saving your life are dying inside?
A fierce and unflinching personal story, Disconnected is an urgent diagnosis of a culture that rewards efficiency and punishes vulnerability—and a bold prescription for how to rediscover the healing purpose at the heart of medicine.
After seventeen years of training to become a vascular surgeon, Dr. Lily Johnston had everything she worked for: prestigious degrees, a respected title, the dream job. There was just one little problem. She was miserable.
From Ivy League labs to the operating room, Dr. Johnston charts her journey through a profession that demanded everything—and gave back exhaustion, isolation, and a gnawing sense of dread. Her personal crisis unveiled a deeper truth: Medicine measures success in billing codes instead of lives truly healed.
The fallout is catastrophic. Burnout and suicide rates among doctors are alarmingly high. Patients are unhappy and unwell. And the culture of silence keeps everyone pretending as if it’s normal.
If you’re a clinician who has swallowed your frustration in silence, this book gives you a voice. If you’re a patient who has felt rushed or unheard, this explains why—and how it can be different. If you’re a leader in the system, this is your wake-up call.
Disconnected is an urgent diagnosis of a culture on the brink—and a bold prescription for how to pull ourselves back.
About the Author
DR. LILY JOHNSTON is a vascular surgeon, cardiometabolic health specialist, and recovering people-pleaser who has spent over a decade practicing medicine from the inside out. She restores blood flow, resolves metabolic chaos, and refuses to forget that medicine was meant to heal the human, not just the disease.
When she’s not with patients, you’ll find her coaxing orchids into bloom, testing her limits under a barbell, or making unapologetically imperfect art. She believes in mitochondria, magic, and the radical act of speaking the truth.
Dr. Johnston earned her BA from Princeton, her MD from UC San Diego, and her MPH from Johns Hopkins, and completed residency at the University of Virginia and her fellowship at the Mayo Clinic. She is board-certified in general and vascular surgery as well as obesity medicine, has published over twenty-five peer-reviewed articles, and serves on national committees shaping the future of her field. She lives in San Diego with two mischievous cats and the conviction that connection is the cure we’ve been missing all along.
Sign up to receive email updates from Dr. Johnston and receive a free excerpt from Disconnected.
By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from Dr. Lily Johnston.
Praise
“Sounding the alarm without descending into despair, Disconnected implores us to resist apathy and outlines how we can enact joy and build true connection, even in the darkest of moments.”
ADAM DORSAY, PsyD, psychologist, and author of Super Psyched
“Heartfelt, wise, and a reminder to all of us that medicine is at its best when it helps people thrive, not just survive.”
DR. MARK CUCUZZELLA, FAAFP, MHP, and author of Run for Your Life
“A persuasive memoir and healthcare treatise, Disconnected argues that the medical field should progress beyond the broken status quo and place more focus on the humanity of patients and medical practitioners.”
Foreword Clarion Reviews
“Johnston makes a convincing case that people can’t fully heal while working inside systems that require disconnection for survival. Her book is both provocative and heartfelt, an effective combination that will appeal to those both inside and outside the medical profession. A stirring argument for institutional change.”
Kirkus Reviews
“Disconnected: A Surgeon’s Search for Healing in a Broken System by Dr. Lily Johnston is the kind of memoir you press into a friend’s hands and say, ‘read this before your next doctor's appointment.’”
San Diego Book Review
“Every surgeon and high performer will recognize themselves in these pages. This book is not an indictment of medicine. It is an invitation to remember why we entered it—and how to come home again.”
DR. PAUL W. M. FEDAK, professor of cardiac surgery and director of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute at the University of Calgary
“An essential read for anyone who cares about the future of medicine, not just as a profession, but as a human calling.”
DR. DOMINIC P. D’AGOSTINO, associate professor, Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, USF Morsani College of Medicine
“Dr. Johnston tells the truth many clinicians are afraid to say out loud—and in doing so, she opens the door to the kind of healing medicine desperately needs.”
BRENDA SNOW, author of Diagnosed: The Essential Guide to Navigating the Patient Journey and founder/ CEO of Snow Companies
Media
Lily Johnston is available for reviews, interviews, features, and speaking engagements. To book Lily, please contact Rebekah Epstein at rebekah@prbythebook.com.
Dr. Johnston has been featured in the following outlets:
Video Gallery:
Contact
Want to get in touch with Dr. Johnston? Interested in booking her for a speaking engagement or interview? Contact her using the form below.