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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
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
SUBSTACK

being a vulnerable mortal in an uncertain world where bad things can happen to good people and dreams do not always come true.

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

Bless the moments that delight you in a world where Everything Happens.

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Bless the moments that delight you in a world where Everything Happens.

Indie Bookstore Day feels like the right moment to say thank you.

To the bookstores who make space for real conversations, who hand-sell books they believe in, who gather people together in folding chairs and crowded aisles—this tour exists because of you.

JOYFUL ANYWAY doesn’t travel without your care, your risk, your community-building, your belief that stories still matter.

I`m so grateful to be on the road with you. 🤍

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Indie Bookstore Day feels like the right moment to say thank you.To the bookstores who make space for real conversations, who hand-sell books they believe in, who gather people together in folding chairs and crowded aisles—this tour exists because of you.JOYFUL ANYWAY doesn’t travel without your care, your risk, your community-building, your belief that stories still matter.I'm so grateful to be on the road with you. 🤍

Oh just reminiscing about the time an entire audience in Nashville started singing “Joyful, Joyful” and I was fighting for my life not to break down in tears.

@hollyaudreywilliams - should we hit the road together as the ultimate duet duo??!

@parnassusbooks and @thefishercenter and @belmontu - thank you for making all of this possible.

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Oh just reminiscing about the time an entire audience in Nashville started singing “Joyful, Joyful” and I was fighting for my life not to break down in tears.@hollyaudreywilliams - should we hit the road together as the ultimate duet duo??!@parnassusbooks and @thefishercenter and @belmontu - thank you for making all of this possible.

DIARY FROM THE ROAD (what day is it? Idk. But I`m having so much fun!): What continues to blow me away on this tour is just how committed we all are to letting joy surprise us—even while caregiving, raising kids, or just trying to stay human in a world that feels like it’s falling apart.

Somewhere between Winston-Salem and Nashville, it hit me: these rooms aren’t looking for easy answers. They’re full of people carrying real things, showing up anyway.

And that’s exactly where joy meets us. Not as an escape, but as something stubborn and unexpected—love, hope, service, and the quiet insistence that even here, something good is still finding its way to us.

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DIARY FROM THE ROAD (what day is it? Idk. But I'm having so much fun!): What continues to blow me away on this tour is just how committed we all are to letting joy surprise us—even while caregiving, raising kids, or just trying to stay human in a world that feels like it’s falling apart.Somewhere between Winston-Salem and Nashville, it hit me: these rooms aren’t looking for easy answers. They’re full of people carrying real things, showing up anyway.And that’s exactly where joy meets us. Not as an escape, but as something stubborn and unexpected—love, hope, service, and the quiet insistence that even here, something good is still finding its way to us.

Why start the tour in Winnipeg?

Because this is where my people are—the ones who raised me, steadied me, and showed up long before there was anything to celebrate. Because my parents are there, and the friends who became family, and @MeredithShaw in a jumpsuit powerful enough to launch a whole tour.

And yes, I know it’s a weird time to be asking people to feel joyful—but if I’m going to start that conversation anywhere, it had to be here.

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Why start the tour in Winnipeg?Because this is where my people are—the ones who raised me, steadied me, and showed up long before there was anything to celebrate. Because my parents are there, and the friends who became family, and @MeredithShaw in a jumpsuit powerful enough to launch a whole tour.And yes, I know it’s a weird time to be asking people to feel joyful—but if I’m going to start that conversation anywhere, it had to be here.

You may not always be happy, but you can be joyful, anyway. So may gratitude find you not as a command or project, but a surprise in a world where Everything Happens.

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You may not always be happy, but you can be joyful, anyway. So may gratitude find you not as a command or project, but a surprise in a world where Everything Happens.

JOYFUL, ANYWAY—an instant New York Times, USA Today, and IndieBound bestseller?!! (yes, ironically shelved under “Self-Help”)

Cheers to all of us who believe, stubbornly, that joy keeps finding us anyway.

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JOYFUL, ANYWAY—an instant New York Times, USA Today, and IndieBound bestseller?!! (yes, ironically shelved under “Self-Help”)Cheers to all of us who believe, stubbornly, that joy keeps finding us anyway.

If you find a secret message about spontaneous combustion in your copy of Joyful, Anyway, please tag me.

I regret to inform you that I know exactly who combusted and where it happened, which feels like the kind of detail a person should not have ready at all times—and yet, here we are.

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If you find a secret message about spontaneous combustion in your copy of Joyful, Anyway, please tag me.I regret to inform you that I know exactly who combusted and where it happened, which feels like the kind of detail a person should not have ready at all times—and yet, here we are.

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
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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
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
SUBSTACK