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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
  Nikki Grimes
  Complicated Childhoods, Forgiveness, and Extraordinary Grace
  Listen Now Complicated Childhoods, Forgiveness, and Extraordinary Grace
  Tim Shriver
  Through the Lens of Love
  Listen Now Through the Lens of Love
  Sarah Wildman
  Small Talk Survivors
  Listen Now Small Talk Survivors
  Sophie Grégoire Trudeau
  Relentless Tenderness: A Conversation on Healing
  Listen Now Relentless Tenderness: A Conversation on Healing
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

being squeezed out of my husbands life and love after 30 years. None. I can’t change that. AND IT HURTS. I want a space where I am wanted and loved, not hurt and Iseen. I want a place to belong

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

Bless the fragile, stubborn hope that insists — against all evidence — that we will commit to the love and action required to chase away the dark in a world where Everything Happens.

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Bless the fragile, stubborn hope that insists — against all evidence — that we will commit to the love and action required to chase away the dark in a world where Everything Happens.

Maybe you meant for this Christmas to feel different—brighter, lighter, better.

But here we are. Halfway through Advent, and the recital was missed, the package is lost, and you forgot you had to make cookies for a class of 35.

And still, this week, we light a candle (the pink one!) for joy. Not because everything went to plan. But because joy is God’s wild gift. It breaks in anyway. Right in the middle of the mess.

So if the season hasn’t gone how you hoped—you`re not alone. May joy find you, anyway, in a world where Everything Happens.

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Maybe you meant for this Christmas to feel different—brighter, lighter, better.But here we are. Halfway through Advent, and the recital was missed, the package is lost, and you forgot you had to make cookies for a class of 35.And still, this week, we light a candle (the pink one!) for joy. Not because everything went to plan. But because joy is God’s wild gift. It breaks in anyway. Right in the middle of the mess.So if the season hasn’t gone how you hoped—you're not alone. May joy find you, anyway, in a world where Everything Happens.

Peace isn’t pretending everything’s fine or even...calm.
It’s choosing to believe the light still gets in.
Even here. Even now.

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

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Peace isn’t pretending everything’s fine or even...calm.
It’s choosing to believe the light still gets in.
Even here. Even now.“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

This Advent, we`re not chasing peace. We`re practicing it. In the ache. In the ordinary. In the promise that peace - real peace - comes as a baby.

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This Advent, we're not chasing peace. We're practicing it. In the ache. In the ordinary. In the promise that peace - real peace - comes as a baby.

Wealth report: still bad at crypto, thriving at feelings.

If you`d like to do Advent with me, you still can!!

Comment "RICH" and I`ll send you a link to subscribe.

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Wealth report: still bad at crypto, thriving at feelings.If you'd like to do Advent with me, you still can!!Comment "RICH" and I'll send you a link to subscribe.

This second week of Advent, we light the candle of peace. And yes—peace? In this economy?
I know. It sounds absurd.

But God’s peace isn’t tidy. It doesn’t float in on clouds.
It disrupts. It gives. It shows up in the middle of our mess.

In a fractured world, peace doesn’t hide. With open arms, it dares us to choose song over silence.
Courage over comfort. Love over apathy.

Peace like that? That’s worth lighting a candle for in a world where Everything Happens.

It`s not too late to join me for Advent (I swear.) Comment "OPEN" and I`ll send you a link to subscribe.

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Open post by katecbowler with ID 18104296978589566

$This second week of Advent, we light the candle of peace. And yes—peace? In this economy? I know. It sounds absurd.But God’s peace isn’t tidy. It doesn’t float in on clouds. It disrupts. It gives. It shows up in the middle of our mess.In a fractured world, peace doesn’t hide. With open arms, it dares us to choose song over silence. Courage over comfort. Love over apathy.Peace like that? That’s worth lighting a candle for in a world where Everything Happens.It's not too late to join me for Advent (I swear.) Comment "OPEN" and I'll send you a link to subscribe.$

Congratulations to the 15 works of fiction that comprise the 2026 @AspenWords Literary Prize 2026 longlist!

In the words of AW’s Executive Director @AdrienneBrodeur: “This year’s longlist tackles the fractures and forces that shape contemporary life—gender, class, migration, technology, identity—with imagination and moral clarity. These writers remind us that storytelling is one of our deepest ways of seeing.”

What a privilege to be a judge this year. These stories carry so much—grief and grit, grace and surprise. I’m honored to hold them for a little while.

Have you read any of them? Where should I begin?

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$Congratulations to the 15 works of fiction that comprise the 2026 @AspenWords Literary Prize 2026 longlist!In the words of AW’s Executive Director @AdrienneBrodeur: “This year’s longlist tackles the fractures and forces that shape contemporary life—gender, class, migration, technology, identity—with imagination and moral clarity. These writers remind us that storytelling is one of our deepest ways of seeing.”What a privilege to be a judge this year. These stories carry so much—grief and grit, grace and surprise. I’m honored to hold them for a little while.Have you read any of them? Where should I begin?$

The world has been big and beautiful lately. And friends make it even lovelier. Every trip makes me want to take another.

Do you have a place on your list that you’re still thinking about and haven’t figured out how it fits yet?

I didn’t think I could travel very far with chronic pain so I was très proud for swinging this.

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The world has been big and beautiful lately. And friends make it even lovelier. Every trip makes me want to take another.Do you have a place on your list that you’re still thinking about and haven’t figured out how it fits yet?I didn’t think I could travel very far with chronic pain so I was très proud for swinging this.

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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Make your inbox a little more human.

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
  Nikki Grimes
  Complicated Childhoods, Forgiveness, and Extraordinary Grace
  Listen Now Complicated Childhoods, Forgiveness, and Extraordinary Grace
  Tim Shriver
  Through the Lens of Love
  Listen Now Through the Lens of Love
  Sarah Wildman
  Small Talk Survivors
  Listen Now Small Talk Survivors
  Sophie Grégoire Trudeau
  Relentless Tenderness: A Conversation on Healing
  Listen Now Relentless Tenderness: A Conversation on Healing
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