No Woman Left Behind - by Kate Grant (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

NOW A USA TODAY BESTSELLER

INSPIRATION FOR HOW TO CREATE A LIFE OF PURPOSE, NO WOMAN LEFT BEHIND IS THE UNLIKELY STORY OF HOW ONE WOMAN LEAVES MADISON AVENUE AND TACKLES THE GLOBAL MATERNAL HEALTH CRISIS HEAD ON--PREFACED BY A POWERFUL FOREWORD BY BEST-SELLING AUTHOR ABRAHAM VERGHESE.

2025 International Book Award Winner in Autobiography/Memoir

"In this rousing debut, Grant demonstrates how the faith and actions of a small group of people can save the world."--BookLife Reviews, Editor's Pick

"A call to action for compassionate advocates, and a stunning tale of how deeds triumph over platitudes."--Dr. Denis Mukwege, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize

The day a woman gives birth is also the day she is most likely to die or suffer severe injury--a sobering reality that comes into sharp focus when Kate Grant visits the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia's capital. There, she sees row after row of beds occupied by young women afflicted with obstetric fistula, a childbirth injury that leaves them incontinent and too often shunned by their communities, modern-day lepers. She soon learns that surgery is the only way to end their suffering.

In No Woman Left Behind, Grant recounts her decision to abandon a promising advertising career, and the ups and downs of building Silicon Valley-based Fistula Foundation from a modest start-up into the global leader in fistula treatment. Through vivid firsthand accounts of surgeons toiling in remote corners of Africa and Asia, we see inside the fight to restore hope to some of the world's most vulnerable women.

A compassionate army of donors spanning nearly seventy countries makes such life-changing care possible. Grant demonstrates the profound power of individual action to change lives at scale, since Fistula Foundation takes no government money. No Woman Left Behind is a compelling personal journey and a how-to guide for anyone looking to make a lasting difference in the lives of others.

100% of the author's net proceeds from No Woman Left Behind will go to Fistula Foundation's Love a Sister program to fund free surgeries for women with childbirth injuries.

Review Quotes

2025 International Book Award Winner in Autobiography/Memoir
2025 Pencraft Seasonal Best Book Awards Winner in Nonfiction - Historical/Cultural

"In No Woman Left Behind, Kate Grant shares her journey of overcoming setbacks and red tape to help women access life-changing fistula surgeries, offering inspiration and insights for anyone determined to make a difference."--Hillary Clinton, former US Secretary of State

"Kate Grant has enabled 100,000 surgeries to transform the lives of women who were facing a bleak future. No Woman Left Behind is an inspiring and empowering story. Read it!"--Peter Singer, professor emeritus at Princeton University, and cofounder of The Life You Can Save

"If you are passionate about maternal health and care about creating a world where women can thrive in motherhood like I do, this book is for you!"--Christy Turlington Burns, founder and president of Every Mother Counts

"It is easy to ignore suffering when the problem exists a continent away, for poor women living in Africa or Asia. Grant's book is a call to action for compassionate advocates, and a stunning tale of how deeds triumph over platitudes. No Woman Left Behind is a powerful plea to be our sister's keeper, and a guidebook to change the world, one woman at a time."--Dr. Denis Mukwege, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize

"No Woman Left Behind is part bildungsroman, expedition diary, and call for action against a terrible affliction. . . . It's a bracing tale in these uneasy times of redemption for both the afflicted and those committed to their cure, and how to live a life with meaning."--Brooke Gladstone, host of public radio's On the Media

"No Woman Left Behind is a stirring story of how a talented social entrepreneur found her true purpose and defied the odds to build an organization that has changed women's lives worldwide. This book will fill you with hope."--David Callahan, founder and publisher of Inside Philanthropy

"Join the author, Kate Grant, on her remarkable journey of hope to help women suffering from fistula and her powerful call to action."--Melanne Verveer, former US Ambassador for Global Women's Issues

"In this rousing debut, Grant, founding CEO of the Fistula Foundation, demonstrates how the faith and actions of a small group of people can save the world. . . . Grant's first-hand stories of how her foundation has changed the lives of women in developing nations will captivate readers. . . . The everyday miracles Grant and her team perform will infuse readers with hope that the ideal of 'no woman left behind' can become reality."--BookLife Reviews, Editor's Pick

"Kate Grant offers a fresh, satisfying story . . . Grant uses description and dialogue so effectively the book often reads like a novel . . . Grant's absorbing account will surely inspire women leaders."--BlueInk Review, starred review

"Kate Grant's No Woman Left Behind is part personal memoir, part global health crusade, and all heart . . . Grant takes a problem most of us have never heard of--one affecting millions of women--and brings it front and center . . . If you've ever wondered whether one person can make a difference, this book answers that with a resounding yes. It's for anyone who's ever felt lost and hoped their pain might lead somewhere better."--Literary Titan, 5-star review

"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 . . . This one will stick with me for a long time."--San Francisco Book Review, 5-star review

"No Woman Left Behind by Kate Grant chronicles her journey through the challenges of global maternal health, specifically focusing on her work with the Fistula Foundation . . . In a mix of personal stories, snapshots, statistics, and research, Grant's unwavering dedication to her cause is evident and drives a powerful call to action that will leave no reader unmoved. Very highly recommended."--Readers' Favorite, 5-star review

"Kate Grant's No Woman Left Behind is part memoir, part global health manifesto--and entirely unforgettable. . . . This is a vital read for anyone who believes that purpose is the greatest privilege--and that no woman should be left behind."--Chicago Book Review, 5-star review

"A candid and inspiring memoir, which captures Kate Grant's personal journey, with a powerful account of women's health inequalities and global health advocacy. . . . The book humanizes and destigmatizes a medical condition that affects hundreds of thousands of women in the developing world."--Readers' Choice, 5-star review

"The author's account is gripping and heartfelt, and Grant relays her story and the stories of women in maternity crisis with the descriptive, energetic, and compassionate prose you would find in anexceptionally well-conceived novel. . . . If you need inspiration to make a bold move in life or want to reach out and help those in need, let No Woman Left Behind by Kate Grant be your guiding light."--Reader Views, 5-star review

"A knowledgeable, powerful, and personal look at the women's health issues in the least developed countries."--Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Kate Grant is the founding CEO of Fistula Foundation, the world's largest charity devoted to treating childbirth injuries. She joined the Foundation in 2005, expanding the Foundation's global footprint from one country to more than 30 in Africa and Asia. Grant is a graduate of UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and earned an MPA from Princeton University. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Abraham Verghese is Professor and Vice Chair for the Theory and Practice of Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The founding director of the Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, he is the author of My Own Country, a 1994 National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist and a Time Best Book of the Year; The Tennis Partner, a New York Times Notable Book; and, most recently, the critically acclaimed novel Cutting for Stone, which was a national bestseller. A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, his essays and short stories have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, Granta, The Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere. In 2016 Verghese received a National Humanities Medal from President Obama. He lives in Palo Alto, California.