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

Kate Grant’s No Woman Left Behind is part memoir, part global health manifesto—and entirely unforgettable. With sharp wit, unflinching honesty, and a voice that’s equal parts fierce and vulnerable, Grant charts her unlikely journey from Madison Avenue ad executive to the powerhouse CEO of the Fistula Foundation. It’s a deeply personal and globally relevant story of transformation—not just for Grant, but for the more than 100,000 women whose lives her work has helped heal.

At its heart, this is a book about listening to what Grant calls “the soul’s whisper,” a theme that runs through the narrative with poignant insistence. “My soul hungered for something more,” she writes after years immersed in the high-octane world of advertising. Her eventual pivot to a life of purpose is catalyzed by a life-changing visit to Ethiopia’s famed Fistula Hospital in the mid-1990s. Grant recalls her encounter with Dr. Catherine Hamlin and former patient-turned-surgical assistant Mamitu Gashe with reverent clarity. “They will break your heart,” Hamlin tells her, and indeed, the reader’s heart breaks again and again as the suffering—and resilience—of fistula patients is laid bare.

Grant deftly contextualizes the issue: obstetric fistula, a childbirth injury nearly eliminated in wealthier countries, continues to devastate women in the poorest parts of the world. She writes, “The biggest difference in health outcomes between rich and poor in our world is in the odds of death due to pregnancy or childbirth.” Through vivid storytelling, we meet young women like Hanna, married at seventeen, left incontinent after five days of obstructed labor, and later healed thanks to a single surgery—a surgery costing less than many of us spend on dinner.

One of the most powerful aspects of Grant’s writing is her refusal to sugarcoat. She’s candid about her missteps, insecurities, and the steep learning curve she faced transitioning into the nonprofit world. In one particularly humorous yet sobering reflection, she describes the advertising industry as offering rewards that are “shallow, transparent, and meaningless,” underscoring her yearning for more.

Themes of justice, maternal health equity, and the power of individual agency pulse through every chapter. Grant’s narrative is also a study in leadership—how empathy, grit, and storytelling can build a movement from the ground up. The book doesn’t just inspire; it mobilizes.

As a reader, I came away with immense respect for the women whose lives are changed by fistula surgery—and for Grant herself, who left behind a life of glossy ad campaigns to amplify their voices. “We tell ourselves that all lives have equal value,” she writes. “But this data reveals a very different story.”

This is a vital read for anyone who believes that purpose is the greatest privilege—and that no woman should be left behind.