About Author

An All-American high school athlete who played basketball, baseball, and soccer for
Beverly Hills High School, Steven Kilmann thought he knew the trajectory his life would go in
as he headed into his senior year playing Division I soccer for the University of Michigan. A premed
student with a 3.6 GPA, social chairman of his fraternity, and a Division I athlete, Kilmann
was well on his way to fulfilling his life’s dream in becoming an Orthopedic Surgeon. But on a
cross-country road trip back to school, his friend fell asleep and drove them off a 60-foot cliff in
Yellowstone National Park, changing Kilmann’s life forever.
Kilmann was thrown from the car onto rocks, suffering a severe traumatic brain injury,
shattering his neck, and permanently losing the function of his dominant right arm. He required
countless surgeries to keep him alive and was hospitalized for five months at Cedars-Sinai
Medical Center. His physical rehabilitation required two additional years.
Despite his accident, Kilmann followed his passion in becoming a physician. He
completed medical school at the University of South Carolina and his residency training at
UCLA. While he once had dreams of becoming an Orthopedic Surgeon, he instead became a
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Doctor, treating patients who had suffered from multiple
medical traumas as he did. His life seemingly came full circle as he would work on the same
floor that he was previously a patient at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Unfortunately, Kilmann discovered life working as a physician was unfulfilling. He quit
medicine to become a writer and an artist. Admittedly, his addictions spiraled out of control
during this period. Once he achieved sobriety, he returned to school and got his Master’s in
Psychology from Antioch University. In addition to writing and making music, Kilmann now
works at a teen treatment center for mental health and substance abuse as well as providing
psychotherapy for individual clients.

“Steven Kilmann”