No Woman Left Behind: A Journey of Hope to Heal Every Woman Injured in Childbirth

I picked up No Woman Left Behind thinking it would be one of those inspiring, world-bettering books I could read in pieces between laundry loads and bedtime stories. I didn’t expect it to grab me by the heart and not let go. Kate Grant’s story is so compelling, so raw, and so full of hard-earned wisdom that I found myself staying up past midnight more than once—something I never do anymore.

At its core, this is a story about one woman figuring out how to live a life that actually matters. Grant starts out in the corporate world, working in high-end advertising, flying to New York and LA, and living the kind of life that sounds glamorous but feels increasingly empty. She’s honest about that emptiness, about the doubts and burnout so many of us can relate to. “I had what I was supposed to want,” she writes, “but my soul hungered for something more.” I’ve been there.

Her turning point comes during a trip to Ethiopia, where she visits a hospital that treats women suffering from fistula—an injury caused by obstructed childbirth. The descriptions of what these women go through are gut-wrenching. As a mom, I couldn’t help but imagine myself—or worse, my daughter—in their shoes. Women like Hanna, who gave birth at home after five days of labor and lost her baby, only to be left with incontinence and shame. “Her husband hated her smell and built a separate small hut for her to live in.” I had to pause there. That sentence just wrecked me.

But it’s not all heartbreak. What makes this book so powerful is the way it lifts you back up. Grant doesn’t just witness the pain—she does something about it. She eventually becomes the CEO of the Fistula Foundation, helping to build it into a global force that has funded more than 100,000 surgeries. The book is filled with stories of women regaining their lives, doctors working miracles, and donors quietly transforming the world.

One thing I appreciated was how down-to-earth Grant is. She admits when she doesn’t know something, when she messes up, when she’s scared. She doesn’t try to be a superhero. She’s a smart, determined woman doing her best—and that’s so relatable. Whether she’s learning to navigate nonprofit politics, confronting cultural blind spots, or facing her own insecurities, she brings you along for every step.

I finished this book feeling hopeful and energized. It reminded me that change doesn’t have to start with a big plan—it can start with a question, or a trip, or even a gut feeling that you’re meant to do more. If you’ve ever felt like your life is stuck in “busy but not fulfilling” mode, No Woman Left Behind might just be the nudge you need. This one will stick with me for a long time.