Kayla Branstetter

Today we’re marching for change with Kayla Branstetter, a mother, daughter, sister, author, and an English Instructor at Crowder College, where she teaches literature, creative nonfiction, and composition. She is a published writer with work appearing in more than forty journals worldwide and the author of a creative nonfiction book. A TEDx speaker and educator, her work centers on women’s health, narrative medicine, reproductive trauma, and the cultural expectations placed on women’s bodies and resilience. She is currently completing a Doctorate of Education in Healthcare with research focused on narrative medicine in women’s healthcare. Her forthcoming book, Don’t Be an Athena, examines reproductive health, medical gaslighting, and the myth of silent endurance through storytelling, research, and at times, dark humor.

Don’t Be an Athena is a book and advocacy platform that uses creative nonfiction, research, and lived experience to examine women’s reproductive health, infertility, medical gaslighting, and trauma. It challenges the cultural myth that women should “power through” pain without complaint, offering a more compassionate, narrative-driven model for healthcare and self-worth. The project supports education, dialogue, and systemic change around women’s bodies and voices.

Listen to Kayla’s inspiring story.