"Killing Kate: The Other Side of the Clipboard" is a memoir co-authored by Dr. Kate Loos, DO, and her sister, Dr. Kelly Neumann, DPT. It provides a raw and unflinching look at Kate's battle with chronic pain, medical trauma, and mental health struggles, ultimately ending in her death by suicide on May 20, 2016.
 
The narrative is structured around Kate’s personal journals—preserved as her "sacred voice"—and Kelly’s professional yet compassionate reflections as a clinician and sister.
 
Core Themes and Content
The Foundation of a Healer
The story begins with Kate's childhood in a small town in Missouri, where she was a standout athlete and a natural leader. Her dream was always to become a physician, a vocation she pursued with intense dedication.
 
The Medical Journey and Systemic Failure
 
The Onset of Pain: While in medical school, Kate began experiencing debilitating bilateral hip pain, which was later attributed to bilateral femoral anteversion and unilateral hip dysplasia.
 
Failed Interventions: Kate underwent five hip surgeries, none of which provided lasting relief.
 
Medical Gaslighting: The "clipboard" in the title symbolizes the medical system that often dismissed Kate's invisible pain because it didn't show up on traditional scans. Clinicians often labeled her a "chronic pain patient," a term she felt carried a heavy stigma.
 
The Descent into Despair
 
Loss of Identity: Forced to take medical leaves of absence, Kate mourned the loss of her career and her future as a healer.
 
Spiritual and Mental Crisis: Kate’s journals document a profound "wrestling match" with her faith, alternating between desperate prayers and angry cries to God. Her physical agony eventually "metastasized" into severe clinical depression and suicidal ideation.
 
The Legacy of the "Other Side"
After Kate's death, Kelly transitioned from a sister in grief to a witness and advocate. She fulfilled a final promise to Kate to tell their "whole story" to help others who feel unseen by the medical system.
 
#Mission2Move: Kelly founded a movement based on the conviction that movement is medicine and that true healing requires seeing the whole person—mind, body, and soul.
 
The Trilogy: This book is the first part of a planned trilogy that explores the different sides of healing and grief.