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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
  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)
  Rowan Williams
  The Strange Gift of Joy
  Listen Now The Strange Gift of Joy
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 Living Alongside Fear

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

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.

Just a little glimpse behind the curtain of life on tour.

I keep thinking: I can’t believe this gets to be my job.

I’m so grateful for the people who make it possible—conversation partners who show up with honesty, bookstores and churches and theaters that open their doors, my team who makes every detail of this possible, family who steadies me when it all feels a little too big, and, of course, all of you beautiful people I have the chance to see all over the country.

What a gift. What a privilege. What a joy.

And yes. I did forget my luggage at the airport. IT WAS AN ACCIDENT I SWEAR.

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Just a little glimpse behind the curtain of life on tour.I keep thinking: I can’t believe this gets to be my job.I’m so grateful for the people who make it possible—conversation partners who show up with honesty, bookstores and churches and theaters that open their doors, my team who makes every detail of this possible, family who steadies me when it all feels a little too big, and, of course, all of you beautiful people I have the chance to see all over the country.What a gift. What a privilege. What a joy.And yes. I did forget my luggage at the airport. IT WAS AN ACCIDENT I SWEAR.

Bless you who refuse to let despair have the final word and find ways to be joyful, anyway in a world where Everything Happens.

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Bless you who refuse to let despair have the final word and find ways to be joyful, anyway in a world where Everything Happens.

Canada, I’m so grateful.

JOYFUL, ANYWAY is an instant #1 bestseller across @globeandmail, @thetorontostar, and @mcnallyrobinson. !!!

It was so meaningful to begin this tour in the places that first shaped me. Winnipeg. Toronto. Old friends, new conversations, and that strange mix of joy and disbelief and some serious nostalgia being among my people.

A huge thank you to @Indigo for making Joyful, Anyway an April Staff Pick. And to everyone who came to the shows, ordered your copy, and are sharing it with friends—my deepest gratitude. May we all be changed and carried by joy.

I`m already plotting my return. 🇨🇦

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Canada, I’m so grateful.JOYFUL, ANYWAY is an instant #1 bestseller across @globeandmail, @thetorontostar, and @mcnallyrobinson. !!!It was so meaningful to begin this tour in the places that first shaped me. Winnipeg. Toronto. Old friends, new conversations, and that strange mix of joy and disbelief and some serious nostalgia being among my people.A huge thank you to @Indigo for making Joyful, Anyway an April Staff Pick. And to everyone who came to the shows, ordered your copy, and are sharing it with friends—my deepest gratitude. May we all be changed and carried by joy.I'm already plotting my return. 🇨🇦

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.

About
Resources
Contact
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Books
MERCH
Mural
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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
  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)
  Rowan Williams
  The Strange Gift of Joy
  Listen Now The Strange Gift of Joy
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.