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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
  Kate Bowler
  How to Change (But Not Overnight)
  Listen Now How to Change (But Not Overnight)
  Kate Bowler
  The Summer of Too Much
  Listen Now The Summer of Too Much
  Suleika Jaouad
  Survival Is a Creative Act
  Listen Now Survival Is a Creative Act
  Erin & Ben Napier
  Everyone’s From Somewhere
  Listen Now Everyone’s From Somewhere
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

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

What do Jayne Mansfield, sharks (specifically their hearts), and @humansofny all have in common???

They`re all mentioned in this week`s Substack essay! A curated round-up of things to watch, listen to, cry over...you get the drift.

Comment "SHARK" and I`ll send over the link.

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 17856931734499298

What do Jayne Mansfield, sharks (specifically their hearts), and @humansofny all have in common???They're all mentioned in this week's Substack essay! A curated round-up of things to watch, listen to, cry over...you get the drift.Comment "SHARK" and I'll send over the link.

I`m FAR FROM PERFECT AT THIS, but there are a few questions I try to ask myself before jumping in with an immediate "yes" to any request.

Also, if you`ve seen me crying in my car, no you haven`t.

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 17990083292837709

I'm FAR FROM PERFECT AT THIS, but there are a few questions I try to ask myself before jumping in with an immediate "yes" to any request.Also, if you've seen me crying in my car, no you haven't.

Welcome to part three of myth-busting a “purpose-driven” life.

Today’s myth? Your life only counts if it’s capital-I Important.

What if meaning isn’t in the mountaintop moments—but in the sandwich you made, the email you answered, the backyard hole you dug because… it just felt right?

It doesn’t have to be impressive to be sacred.
(It just has to be yours.)

Follow for more cultural myth-ruining and gentle truth-telling. We’re just getting started.

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18079182029313113

Welcome to part three of myth-busting a “purpose-driven” life.Today’s myth? Your life only counts if it’s capital-I Important.What if meaning isn’t in the mountaintop moments—but in the sandwich you made, the email you answered, the backyard hole you dug because… it just felt right?It doesn’t have to be impressive to be sacred.
(It just has to be yours.)Follow for more cultural myth-ruining and gentle truth-telling. We’re just getting started.

If you’ve been around here for a minute, you know that I’ve been thinking A LOT about what it means to have purpose and be in community with others, especially when the world feels bleak and lightly apocalyptic.

And I have found that I can turn down the volume of my worries and anxieties about (gesticulates wildly) all the things, when I’m able to serve someone else.

When we can “be the village” for someone else, we’re not just lightening their load - we’re weaving ourselves into a web of care that can hold us, too.

Small acts pull us together and remind us that belonging isn’t just something we get, it’s something we practice.

Here are five ways to be the village today (part two). And who knows—your “yes” might be the thing that changes everything.

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18075443984008300

If you’ve been around here for a minute, you know that I’ve been thinking A LOT about what it means to have purpose and be in community with others, especially when the world feels bleak and lightly apocalyptic.And I have found that I can turn down the volume of my worries and anxieties about (gesticulates wildly) all the things, when I’m able to serve someone else.When we can “be the village” for someone else, we’re not just lightening their load - we’re weaving ourselves into a web of care that can hold us, too.Small acts pull us together and remind us that belonging isn’t just something we get, it’s something we practice.Here are five ways to be the village today (part two). And who knows—your “yes” might be the thing that changes everything.

You don’t have to leap into a new life. You can tiptoe.

One honest step at a time is still a kind of miracle in a world where Everything Happens.

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18088250344693928

You don’t have to leap into a new life. You can tiptoe.One honest step at a time is still a kind of miracle in a world where Everything Happens.

Not a life-hack girlie. Just out here trying to make one wise choice at a time… like not impulse-moving to a goat farm. 🐐

This week: PRUDENCE. (No, not the 18th-century baby name. The virtue.)

Follow along for more unsexy ways to live a meaningful life. ✨

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18319927240236907

Not a life-hack girlie. Just out here trying to make one wise choice at a time… like not impulse-moving to a goat farm. 🐐This week: PRUDENCE. (No, not the 18th-century baby name. The virtue.)Follow along for more unsexy ways to live a meaningful life. ✨

I really mean it when I say, "I`m not a Nature Girl™." If you missed last week`s Substack essay, I wrote about how to fall in love with the natural world despite it being full of creatures with sharp teeth.

DON`T WORRY - THIS WAS TWO YEARS AGO AND CLEARLY I`M OVER IT AND DON`T THINK ABOUT IT AT ALL ANYMORE.

Comment "🐍" and I`ll send you a link to read. It features a few lessons from dear @margaret.renkl, who loves the world in a way I want so deeply to replicate.

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 17999282189811148

I really mean it when I say, "I'm not a Nature Girl™." If you missed last week's Substack essay, I wrote about how to fall in love with the natural world despite it being full of creatures with sharp teeth.DON'T WORRY - THIS WAS TWO YEARS AGO AND CLEARLY I'M OVER IT AND DON'T THINK ABOUT IT AT ALL ANYMORE.Comment "🐍" and I'll send you a link to read. It features a few lessons from dear @margaret.renkl, who loves the world in a way I want so deeply to replicate.

Here`s to hobbies with no agenda, creating rom-coms just to see ourselves in stories, making hidden art, and oh so many other things that fill our soul that no one will ever see.

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Here's to hobbies with no agenda, creating rom-coms just to see ourselves in stories, making hidden art, and oh so many other things that fill our soul that no one will ever see.

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
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
  Kate Bowler
  How to Change (But Not Overnight)
  Listen Now How to Change (But Not Overnight)
  Kate Bowler
  The Summer of Too Much
  Listen Now The Summer of Too Much
  Suleika Jaouad
  Survival Is a Creative Act
  Listen Now Survival Is a Creative Act
  Erin & Ben Napier
  Everyone’s From Somewhere
  Listen Now Everyone’s From Somewhere
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