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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

Here’s Your Free Download

We also sent it to your email, if that’s easier.

May these words offer you a bit of courage to live inside of your life… just as it is.

Imperfect. Often heartbreaking. And still, somehow, beautiful.

Download

You might also like these conversations:

Doubt, Depth, and the Future of Belief

Listen Doubt, Depth, and the Future of Belief

 How to Love the World Anyway

Listen  How to Love the World Anyway

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

July is for, among other things, BOOK CLUB. Are you in?!

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18410308519146344
July is for, among other things, BOOK CLUB. Are you in?!

THE EVERYTHING HAPPENS BOOK CLUB IS FINALLY....HAPPENING! (can you tell I’m excited?)

Our inaugural selection is Shark Heart by Emily Habeck (@emily.habeck), a novel about a man transforming into a Great White Shark that is somehow the most tender book about grief and love I’ve ever read. I can’t wait for you all to experience it.

Here’s how The EH Book Club will work: we’ll have a special section just for book club over on Substack. Opt in and you’ll get thoughtful discussion questions, close reads, supplemental reading, and more. Read at your own pace, follow our loose schedule, or just join in whenever works for you. This is so low stakes, I swear. My hope is that you’ll discover some new titles to love — and a community to talk about them with.

Comment “SHARK” and I’ll send you a link to join!

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18425343469130711
THE EVERYTHING HAPPENS BOOK CLUB IS FINALLY....HAPPENING! (can you tell I’m excited?)Our inaugural selection is Shark Heart by Emily Habeck (@emily.habeck), a novel about a man transforming into a Great White Shark that is somehow the most tender book about grief and love I’ve ever read. I can’t wait for you all to experience it.Here’s how The EH Book Club will work: we’ll have a special section just for book club over on Substack. Opt in and you’ll get thoughtful discussion questions, close reads, supplemental reading, and more. Read at your own pace, follow our loose schedule, or just join in whenever works for you. This is so low stakes, I swear. My hope is that you’ll discover some new titles to love — and a community to talk about them with.Comment “SHARK” and I’ll send you a link to join!

Before writing JOYFUL ANYWAY, I thought "joy" and "happiness" were the same thing.
Dear reader: they are not.

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18102291449275283
Before writing JOYFUL ANYWAY, I thought "joy" and "happiness" were the same thing.
Dear reader: they are not.

May the small and ordinary joys still surprise you, anyway, in a world where Everything Happens (and it`s a million degrees outside).

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 17889010539565618
May the small and ordinary joys still surprise you, anyway, in a world where Everything Happens (and it's a million degrees outside).

TAKE OFF THE WEARABLE AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS.

I dare you.

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18398119309085350
TAKE OFF THE WEARABLE AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS.I dare you.

This one’s for your porous, unoptimized summer. 🌊
My favorite things this month — plus a big Book Club announcement — are all in the essay.

Comment PLAY for the link!

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18006539312923985
This one’s for your porous, unoptimized summer. 🌊
My favorite things this month — plus a big Book Club announcement — are all in the essay.Comment PLAY for the link!

Please stop trying to live with so.many.reasons.

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18088206389413261
Please stop trying to live with so.many.reasons.

Happy Father’s Day to the men who taught us love can look like steady presence, terrible jokes, fixed appliances, unnecessary advice, and one more text asking if we got home safe.

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18085359776571537
Happy Father’s Day to the men who taught us love can look like steady presence, terrible jokes, fixed appliances, unnecessary advice, and one more text asking if we got home safe.

 

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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Complicated Families
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what not to say
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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