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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
  Reshma Saujani
  Motherhood Was Never Meant to Be a One-Person Job
  Listen Now Motherhood Was Never Meant to Be a One-Person Job
  Tim Shriver
  How to Disagree Without Hating Each Other
  Listen Now How to Disagree Without Hating Each Other
  Bill Haslam
  You Might Be Wrong
  Listen Now You Might Be Wrong
  Mark Chaves
  Is There Really a Religious Revival?
  Listen Now Is There Really a Religious Revival?
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

Kate Bowler

Read More Life After Loss

End of content

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

I mean, so many props to the rollerblading mother of twins BUT WE CAN`T ALL DO THAT. (nor should we)

Somewhere along the way, we decided that the ideal mother is the one who can do absolutely everything. Raise the babies. Have the career. Remember the permission slips. Maintain a functioning pelvic floor. And, ideally, look delighted about the whole thing.

Well, today`s guest on @everythinghappens has some thoughts about that.

@reshmasaujani, founder of @girlswhocode and executive producer of @nocountryformothers, is asking a much better question: What if we stopped telling mothers to try harder and started changing the systems that make motherhood so impossibly hard?

Because, as it turns out, women are human beings. With actual limits. HOW INCONVENIENT.

Comment MOM and I`ll send you a link to watch the full conversation!

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 17896363077654730

I mean, so many props to the rollerblading mother of twins BUT WE CAN'T ALL DO THAT. (nor should we)

Somewhere along the way, we decided that the ideal mother is the one who can do absolutely everything. Raise the babies. Have the career. Remember the permission slips. Maintain a functioning pelvic floor. And, ideally, look delighted about the whole thing.

Well, today's guest on @everythinghappens has some thoughts about that.

@reshmasaujani, founder of @girlswhocode and executive producer of @nocountryformothers, is asking a much better question: What if we stopped telling mothers to try harder and started changing the systems that make motherhood so impossibly hard?

Because, as it turns out, women are human beings. With actual limits. HOW INCONVENIENT.

Comment MOM and I'll send you a link to watch the full conversation!

And somehow it’s…November?

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18498052513096963

May you be loving instead of disdainful in a world where Everything Happens.

P.S. GO VOTE ON TUESDAY!

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18100756265381638

May you be loving instead of disdainful in a world where Everything Happens.

P.S. GO VOTE ON TUESDAY!

`Tis the season! A brave look back at decisions I made with confidence and a glue gun.

p.s. Post photos of your best (OR WORST) Halloween costumes in the comment section and I`ll choose a few to rate!

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18126123967698366

'Tis the season! A brave look back at decisions I made with confidence and a glue gun.

p.s. Post photos of your best (OR WORST) Halloween costumes in the comment section and I'll choose a few to rate!

What if joy is closer than we think? Even when life is a lot (and isn`t it always?).

Join me and the wonderful Meghan Henley at @BlackberryFarm for a few days of honest conversations, yoga, reflection, incredible food, and a little room to breathe. We`ll explore how to make space for joy in the lives we actually have. No perfect mindset required.

Come as you are. All your feelings are welcome. ❤️

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 17876158131637900

What if joy is closer than we think? Even when life is a lot (and isn't it always?).

Join me and the wonderful Meghan Henley at @BlackberryFarm for a few days of honest conversations, yoga, reflection, incredible food, and a little room to breathe. We'll explore how to make space for joy in the lives we actually have. No perfect mindset required.

Come as you are. All your feelings are welcome. ❤️

I`ve always said that giving is very bad math.

You give away your time, your energy, your love. By all reasonable calculations, you should have less.

And yet. Somehow, joy comes rushing in to fill the gap.

It`s terrible arithmetic. I love it.

And few people understand this strange equation better than Tim Shriver (@timothyshriver).

As Chairman of @specialolympics and CEO and Co-Founder of @thedignityindex, Tim has spent his life asking what happens when we treat every person as someone with dignity.

Turns out, the people we think we`re helping have an astonishing amount to give us, too.

Comment TIM and I`ll send you the whole conversation.

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18122029000941384

I've always said that giving is very bad math.

You give away your time, your energy, your love. By all reasonable calculations, you should have less.

And yet. Somehow, joy comes rushing in to fill the gap.

It's terrible arithmetic. I love it.

And few people understand this strange equation better than Tim Shriver (@timothyshriver).

As Chairman of @specialolympics and CEO and Co-Founder of @thedignityindex, Tim has spent his life asking what happens when we treat every person as someone with dignity.

Turns out, the people we think we're helping have an astonishing amount to give us, too.

Comment TIM and I'll send you the whole conversation.

We have some very strange rules about grief. Keep it private. Don`t make anyone uncomfortable. And for heaven`s sake, try not to bring it up at a dinner party.

But grief has never been particularly interested in following the rules. And thank God for the people who make room for us to tell the truth about it.

Thank you, @AspenWords, for creating such a beautiful space for the conversations that matter most. What a gift to be together, @peterhreynolds and @timtalksbooks. ❤️

Photos by Hal Williams for Aspen Words-Aspen Institute.

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 17954004081271422

We have some very strange rules about grief. Keep it private. Don't make anyone uncomfortable. And for heaven's sake, try not to bring it up at a dinner party.

But grief has never been particularly interested in following the rules. And thank God for the people who make room for us to tell the truth about it.

Thank you, @AspenWords, for creating such a beautiful space for the conversations that matter most. What a gift to be together, @peterhreynolds and @timtalksbooks. ❤️

Photos by Hal Williams for Aspen Words-Aspen Institute.

Bless you when you cannot see far ahead. May you do the next faithful thing in a world where Everything Happens.

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18571369159075764

Bless you when you cannot see far ahead. May you do the next faithful thing 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.

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Blessings

Everything Happens.

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
  Reshma Saujani
  Motherhood Was Never Meant to Be a One-Person Job
  Listen Now Motherhood Was Never Meant to Be a One-Person Job
  Tim Shriver
  How to Disagree Without Hating Each Other
  Listen Now How to Disagree Without Hating Each Other
  Bill Haslam
  You Might Be Wrong
  Listen Now You Might Be Wrong
  Mark Chaves
  Is There Really a Religious Revival?
  Listen Now Is There Really a Religious Revival?
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

Meet Kate

Get to Know Me

How to Connect

Everything Happens.

Books

Joyful, Anyway

Everything Happens for a Reason

Have a Beautiful Terrible Day!

No Cure for Being Human

Resources

Types

Topics

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.

Follow along on socials

Everything Happens.

Browse by topic

Meet Kate

Get to Know Me

How to Connect

Everything Happens.

Books

Joyful, Anyway

Everything Happens for a Reason

Have a Beautiful Terrible Day!

No Cure for Being Human

Resources

Types

Topics

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.