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Kate Bowler
  • ABOUTExpand
    • Meet Kate

      Hi, I’m Kate. I’m a Duke professor, podcaster, and author with a single mission: giving you permission to feel human. After years of being told I was incurable, I was declared cancer-free. But there’s no going back. I am forever changed by what I discovered: life is so beautiful and life is so hard. For everyone.

      ABOUT KATE

      Get to Know Me

      HUMAN
      AUTHOR
      PODCAST HOST
      SPEAKER

      How to Connect

      NEWSLETTER
      BOOKING
      EVENTS
      CONTACT
      PRESS
      Kate Bowler sitting in front of books

  • PODCASTExpand
    • Everything Happens.

      Are you living your best life now? Not always? This is a podcast for you. Duke Professor Kate Bowler is an expert in the stories we tell about success and failure, suffering and happiness. She had Stage IV cancer. Then she didn’t. And since then, all she wants to do is talk to funny and wise people about how to live with the knowledge that, well, everything happens. 

      See All Episodes
      Tomáš Halík

      Doubt, Depth, and the Future of Belief

      Listen Now Doubt, Depth, and the Future of Belief
      Nadia Bolz-Weber | Sarah Bessey

       How to Love the World Anyway

      Listen Now  How to Love the World Anyway
      Jenny Lawson | Rhett McLaughlin

      Joy, Absurdity, and the Weird Ways We Survive  

      Listen Now Joy, Absurdity, and the Weird Ways We Survive  

      Joyful Anyway (Yes, Even Now)

      Listen Now Joyful Anyway (Yes, Even Now)
  • BOOKSExpand
    • Books

      Let’s untangle our culture’s obsession with toxic positivity and self-help, shall we? Kate studies the cultural stories we tell ourselves about success, suffering, and whether (or not) we’re capable of change. She is the author of seven books including three instant New York Times bestsellers.

      All Books

      Joyful, Anyway

      Everything Happens for a Reason

      (And Other Lies I’ve Loved)

      Have a Beautiful Terrible Day!

      Daily Meditations for the Ups, Downs & In-Betweens

      No Cure for Being Human

      (And Other Truths I Need to Hear)

  • RESOURCESExpand
    • Resources

      Our goal with Everything Happens is to create rich language and vibrant community that sustains us when life comes apart. Below, you’ll find categories that may be good starting points for you. Inside are a mix of podcasts, blessings, support guides, and bonus resources that we hope will be useful.

      ALL RESOURCES

      Types

      BLESSINGS
      DEVOTIONALS
      SUPPORT GUIDES
      COURSES
      FREE DOWNLOADS
      Discussion Guides
      FOR MINISTRY

      Topics

      ILLNESS
      GRIEF
      WHAT NOT TO SAY
      RESILIENT FAITH
      INSPIRING LIVES

      NUANCED HOPE
      CARING AT HOME
      CARING AT WORK
      COMPLICATED FAMILIES
      MOVING FORWARD

  • MERCHExpand
    • Sweatshirts
    • Shirts
    • Hats
    • Goodies
  • SUBSTACK
Kate Bowler
Kate Bowler

Option B by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant

Discussion Questions

More Like This

Far from the Tree by Andrew Solomon

Option B by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant

Leaving Church by Barbara Brown Taylor

A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis

All BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

Every week I usually forget most of the basics:
a) you are loved. b) life is absurd. c) it’s hard to be a human.

If you want some smart, kind, and funny encouragement to get you through your week, sign up for my newsletter. I’d love to be your reminder. 

Follow along on socials

@katecbowler

Can we please simmer down on the way we`ve turned gratitude into another assignment?

I love gratitude. I just don`t love what we`ve done to it.

Comment "THANKS" below and I`ll send you the rest of my thoughts. (I have... feelings.)

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18129626503631703
Can we please simmer down on the way we've turned gratitude into another assignment?I love gratitude. I just don't love what we've done to it.Comment "THANKS" below and I'll send you the rest of my thoughts. (I have... feelings.)

Joy has a remarkable inability to read the room. Thank God.

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18029379086664706
Joy has a remarkable inability to read the room. Thank God.

May you remember that a good life is rarely made of extraordinary days, but ordinary ones that were fully received in a world where Everything Happens.

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18106353983586646
May you remember that a good life is rarely made of extraordinary days, but ordinary ones that were fully received in a world where Everything Happens.

The chic thing isn`t finding a perfect life. It`s noticing the one that`s already yours..

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The chic thing isn't finding a perfect life. It's noticing the one that's already yours..

Signs I would hang in my Nantucket shop.

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Signs I would hang in my Nantucket shop.

We’ve somehow wandered into August. (How? Who approved this?)

Which means it’s time for a new @everythinghappens Book Club pick.

This month we’re reading “So Far Gone” by Jess Walter (@jesswalterbooks), and we couldn’t be happier about it.

It’s a novel about people who are worn out, disappointed, trying to outrun themselves, or wondering if disappearing might be easier than starting over. And yet, somehow, it’s also funny, tender, and deeply hopeful.

We chose it because it asks a question we come back to all the time: What does it look like to keep showing up for your life when you’re exhausted, disillusioned, or not at all sure what comes next? The answer isn’t tidy. Thankfully, neither is life.

If you’d like to read along with us this month, we’d love to have you.

Just comment “GONE” and we’ll send you the link.

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18172037314433403
We’ve somehow wandered into August. (How? Who approved this?)Which means it’s time for a new @everythinghappens Book Club pick.This month we’re reading “So Far Gone” by Jess Walter (@jesswalterbooks), and we couldn’t be happier about it.It’s a novel about people who are worn out, disappointed, trying to outrun themselves, or wondering if disappearing might be easier than starting over. And yet, somehow, it’s also funny, tender, and deeply hopeful.We chose it because it asks a question we come back to all the time: What does it look like to keep showing up for your life when you’re exhausted, disillusioned, or not at all sure what comes next? The answer isn’t tidy. Thankfully, neither is life.If you’d like to read along with us this month, we’d love to have you.Just comment “GONE” and we’ll send you the link.

Not every memory you make with your family will be a core memory and THAT IS OKAY I SWEAR.

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 17941313712267436
Not every memory you make with your family will be a core memory and THAT IS OKAY I SWEAR.

It`s August. Don`t let the life you`re bracing for keep you from the life you`re living in a world where Everything Happens.

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18097968716203139
It's August. Don't let the life you're bracing for keep you from the life you're living in a world where Everything Happens.

 

If you are reading this you have great eyesight. But also, thanks for being a person with me. The world is strange and hard for soft-hearted humans, but I think you’re a delight.

© 2026 Kate Bowler
Development by Penner Web Design

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  • ABOUT
    • Meet Kate

      Hi, I’m Kate. I’m a Duke professor, podcaster, and author with a single mission: giving you permission to feel human. After years of being told I was incurable, I was declared cancer-free. But there’s no going back. I am forever changed by what I discovered: life is so beautiful and life is so hard. For everyone.

      ABOUT KATE

      Get to Know Me

      HUMAN
      AUTHOR
      PODCAST HOST
      SPEAKER

      How to Connect

      NEWSLETTER
      BOOKING
      EVENTS
      CONTACT
      PRESS
      Kate Bowler sitting in front of books

  • PODCAST
    • Everything Happens.

      Are you living your best life now? Not always? This is a podcast for you. Duke Professor Kate Bowler is an expert in the stories we tell about success and failure, suffering and happiness. She had Stage IV cancer. Then she didn’t. And since then, all she wants to do is talk to funny and wise people about how to live with the knowledge that, well, everything happens. 

      See All Episodes
      Tomáš Halík

      Doubt, Depth, and the Future of Belief

      Listen Now Doubt, Depth, and the Future of Belief
      Nadia Bolz-Weber | Sarah Bessey

       How to Love the World Anyway

      Listen Now  How to Love the World Anyway
      Jenny Lawson | Rhett McLaughlin

      Joy, Absurdity, and the Weird Ways We Survive  

      Listen Now Joy, Absurdity, and the Weird Ways We Survive  

      Joyful Anyway (Yes, Even Now)

      Listen Now Joyful Anyway (Yes, Even Now)
  • BOOKS
    • Books

      Let’s untangle our culture’s obsession with toxic positivity and self-help, shall we? Kate studies the cultural stories we tell ourselves about success, suffering, and whether (or not) we’re capable of change. She is the author of seven books including three instant New York Times bestsellers.

      All Books

      Joyful, Anyway

      Everything Happens for a Reason

      (And Other Lies I’ve Loved)

      Have a Beautiful Terrible Day!

      Daily Meditations for the Ups, Downs & In-Betweens

      No Cure for Being Human

      (And Other Truths I Need to Hear)

  • RESOURCES
    • Resources

      Our goal with Everything Happens is to create rich language and vibrant community that sustains us when life comes apart. Below, you’ll find categories that may be good starting points for you. Inside are a mix of podcasts, blessings, support guides, and bonus resources that we hope will be useful.

      ALL RESOURCES

      Types

      BLESSINGS
      DEVOTIONALS
      SUPPORT GUIDES
      COURSES
      FREE DOWNLOADS
      Discussion Guides
      FOR MINISTRY

      Topics

      ILLNESS
      GRIEF
      WHAT NOT TO SAY
      RESILIENT FAITH
      INSPIRING LIVES

      NUANCED HOPE
      CARING AT HOME
      CARING AT WORK
      COMPLICATED FAMILIES
      MOVING FORWARD

  • MERCH
    • Sweatshirts
    • Shirts
    • Hats
    • Goodies
  • SUBSTACK