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  • 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
      Erin & Ben Napier

      Everyone’s From Somewhere

      Listen Now Everyone’s From Somewhere
      Stacey Heale

      The Aftermath of the Aftermath

      Listen Now The Aftermath of the Aftermath
      Kimberly Williams-Paisley

      Where The Light (Still) Gets In

      Listen Now Where The Light (Still) Gets In
      Amanda Doyle

      When Fixing Isn’t Loving

      Listen Now When Fixing Isn’t Loving
  • 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

      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

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

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 Blessings

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. 
 

Name

Follow along on socials

@katecbowler

Trust me when I tell you I wanted mushroom coffee to change my life. 🍄‍🟫☕️

#everythinghappens #propagandaimnotfallingfor

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18463769311076677
Trust me when I tell you I wanted mushroom coffee to change my life. 🍄‍🟫☕️#everythinghappens #propagandaimnotfallingfor

Anyone else just need a nap and lower expectations??? 🍋💤☀️

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Anyone else just need a nap and lower expectations??? 🍋💤☀️

What if the American Dream wasn’t somewhere "out there"… but right here, in your own backyard?

Today on Everything Happens, I sit down with the hosts of the @hgtv hit show "Home Town," @scotsman.co and @erinapier, and we chat about how they’re reimagining home—not as a status symbol or a five-year plan, but as a place to belong.

They talk about small towns, big feelings, and why slow-building a life you love might just be the most radical thing you can do.

Comment "SMALL" and I`ll send you a link to watch the whole thing!

#everythinghappens #benanderinnapier #smalltownliving #smalltownsacred

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18498944242053469
What if the American Dream wasn’t somewhere "out there"… but right here, in your own backyard?Today on Everything Happens, I sit down with the hosts of the @hgtv hit show "Home Town," @scotsman.co and @erinapier, and we chat about how they’re reimagining home—not as a status symbol or a five-year plan, but as a place to belong.They talk about small towns, big feelings, and why slow-building a life you love might just be the most radical thing you can do.Comment "SMALL" and I'll send you a link to watch the whole thing!#everythinghappens #benanderinnapier #smalltownliving #smalltownsacred

I have more notes about how to not pretend you like camping, because then people will actually want you to camp. 🏕️

Stay tuned.

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I have more notes about how to not pretend you like camping, because then people will actually want you to camp. 🏕️Stay tuned.

Bless you who ask, "What now?"

May this summer be a series of small recoveries.

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Bless you who ask, "What now?"May this summer be a series of small recoveries.

This month`s notable books include topics like how to talk to teenagers, deal with complex diagnoses, answering the seemingly unanswerable questions, and how words and language help us survive.

📚"The Emotional Lives of Teenagers" by @lisa.damour - A guide to help parents understand their teenagers’ intense and often fraught emotional lives. 😢
📚"We Can Do Hard Things" by @glennondoyle, @abbywambach, and Amanda Doyle - A guidebook for being alive—to help fellow travellers find their way through life. 😢😢
📚"Where the Light Gets In" by @kimberlywilliamspaisley - A gorgeous, tender, and heartbreaking account of her mother`s diagnosis of a rare form of dementia. 😢😢😢😢
📚"Ordinary Hazards" by Nikki Grimes - Written in verse, this epic memoir is about painful childhoods and how the written word can be a means of survival. 😢😢😢😢😢

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 17970401963883666
This month's notable books include topics like how to talk to teenagers, deal with complex diagnoses, answering the seemingly unanswerable questions, and how words and language help us survive.📚"The Emotional Lives of Teenagers" by @lisa.damour - A guide to help parents understand their teenagers’ intense and often fraught emotional lives. 😢 📚"We Can Do Hard Things" by @glennondoyle, @abbywambach, and Amanda Doyle - A guidebook for being alive—to help fellow travellers find their way through life. 😢😢 📚"Where the Light Gets In" by @kimberlywilliamspaisley - A gorgeous, tender, and heartbreaking account of her mother's diagnosis of a rare form of dementia. 😢😢😢😢 📚"Ordinary Hazards" by Nikki Grimes - Written in verse, this epic memoir is about painful childhoods and how the written word can be a means of survival. 😢😢😢😢😢

If only bébe Kate knew. 💕🐍

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18168602221339282
If only bébe Kate knew. 💕🐍

You’re not who you were.
But you’re not quite who you’ll be.
Welcome to the in-between—the awkward, messy middle of becoming.

It’s confusing here. Lonely, even.
But stuck doesn’t mean broken.
It just means you’re still blooming… quietly, stubbornly, on your own weird timeline.

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18007588979747849
You’re not who you were. But you’re not quite who you’ll be. Welcome to the in-between—the awkward, messy middle of becoming.It’s confusing here. Lonely, even. But stuck doesn’t mean broken. It just means you’re still blooming… quietly, stubbornly, on your own weird timeline.

 

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.

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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
      Erin & Ben Napier

      Everyone’s From Somewhere

      Listen Now Everyone’s From Somewhere
      Stacey Heale

      The Aftermath of the Aftermath

      Listen Now The Aftermath of the Aftermath
      Kimberly Williams-Paisley

      Where The Light (Still) Gets In

      Listen Now Where The Light (Still) Gets In
      Amanda Doyle

      When Fixing Isn’t Loving

      Listen Now When Fixing Isn’t Loving
  • 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

      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