About Advancing Reproductive Choice

In Advancing Reproductive Choice, Liz Maguire chronicles her 45-year career dedicated to helping women and girls in developing countries make their own reproductive decisions freely and safely and build a better future for themselves and their families.

Maguire highlights the critical work of the organizations where she held leadership positions and her rich and varied experiences in North and sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In the 1990s, she served as the first woman director of the global family planning and reproductive health program of the U.S. Agency for International Development, followed by 16 years as CEO of the international non-profit, Ipas. Maguire discusses the major challenges that remain in achieving sexual and reproductive health and rights for all, now exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. She calls for accelerating the global fight for reproductive and social justice.

Maguire also shares her adventures studying and travelling in Europe in her youth, living in France part-time over the last 35 years, and exploring other intriguing places around the world. She concludes with reflections on core values, leadership, and mentorship. Throughout her memoir, Maguire conveys what is possible in life and leadership with passion, perseverance, compassion, optimism, and continuous learning.

Advancing Reproductive Choice: Leading with Conviction and Compassion, was published in December 2020. It received the 2021 Independent Press Award and was a medalist in the 2021 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY) – both in the category of women’s studies. Maguire's book was awarded the 2021 Silver Medal (Inspirational Memoir-Female) by the Living Now Book Awards and was a finalist in the Women's Issues/Women's Studies category of the 2021 Best Book Awards. The book also received the 2022 Memoir Prize for Books (Gender Equality).