Lessons in Hope: A New Era for Maasai Women in Tanzania

by Juliet Cutler, Esuvat Lucumay (contributor), Tryphone Mutta (contributor)

Set in Tanzania, Lessons in Hope features inspiring stories and beautiful portraits of Maasai women who have overcome significant barriers to gain a life-changing education that has empowered them to guide their culture into the future.

In this inspiring collection of interviews and portraits, over twenty Maasai women share the ways education has transformed their lives by giving them the tools to overcome poverty and empowering them to make profound differences in their communities. 

Through their stories, the women featured in Lessons in Hope lay bare the overwhelming challenges many Maasai women and girls continue to face. For some, hunger hovers nearby, only one bad drought away. Many must raise children without running water or electricity. Most struggle to gain a basic education, see a doctor, or earn an income. And too many Maasai girls still endure female genital mutilation, early forced marriages, and other forms of violence. 

Yet these remarkable women have overcome the odds. As graduates of the first school for Maasai girls in East Africa, these thriving leaders now hold positions in education, health care, nonprofits, government, and business. Their stories reveal a cadre of Maasai women working toward positive change within their own culture and offering a compelling, optimistic vision for the future. 

Proceeds from the sale of this book support education for Maasai girls. 

248 pages, Paperback

Published September 9, 2025

About the author

Juliet Cutler is a writer and exhibit designer for museums, parks, and cultural centers around the world. In 1999 and 2000, Juliet lived in Tanzania, where she taught English at the first school for Maasai girls in East Africa. She recounts her experiences during those years in her award-winning first book, "Among the Maasai." Twenty-five years later, she illustrates the positive impacts of education on Maasai women in her second book, "Lessons in Hope." Juliet regularly returns to Tanzania to support causes that uplift Maasai women and girls. She currently lives with her husband, Mark, near Atlanta.

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lessons in Hope are just that. Author Juliet Cutler returns to Tanzania where she spent time teaching at the Maasai Girls Lutheran Secondary School (MGLSS) over twenty-five years ago. These girls were survivors and were offered a lifeline in getting an education. Read "Among the Maasai: A Memoir" to hear about her experience. A great book.
Now, Juliet interviews these women as well as others who have graduated from the MGLSS. The book is filled with hope and pride from these women. They are now doctors, nurses, entrepreneurs, business owners, etc. This beautiful book is filled with pictures and stories of hope.
We need books like this at a time when there is so much darkness. You will be inspired by each story and it will shine light through any darkness.

I highly recommend it!

[Lori Duff · Rating 5 out of 5]

With gorgeous photography and heartfelt writing, "Lessons in Hope" really lives up to its title. If you're looking for an antidote to all the negativity in the world, here it is. Showing how powerful the basic education of girls is to the empowering of women, getting them out of a cycle of poverty and abuse, this book highlights the good in the world.