Honor Bound: An American Story of Dreams and Service

Amy McGrath grew up in Edgewood, Kentucky, a childhood shaped by love of country, baseball (the Cincinnati Reds), and, from the age of twelve, a fascination with fighter jets. Her devastation at learning that a federal law prohibited women from flying in combat fueled her determination to do just that — and then, to help change the laws to improve the lives of all Americans.

McGrath writes of gaining an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, making it through Marine Corps training, graduating from Annapolis, Maryland, and raising her right hand to swear to defend the U.S. Constitution, honor bound. She vividly recounts her combat deployments to Iraq (Kuwait) and Afghanistan, her work as an Air Combat Tactics instructor — and what it was like to finally fly that fighter jet: high-speed, intense, and physically demanding.

Then, after a full career, she moved her family back to Kentucky to begin a whole new chapter in politics. Follow along with her roller-coaster congressional campaign and then her tough decision to run again, in an even bigger, higher-stakes national campaign, against the five-term leader of the U.S. Senate, Mitch McConnell. This is a moving, inspiring American story of courage, determination, and large dreams.