Kate Bowler
“Time really is a circle; I can see that now. We are trapped between a past we can’t return to and a future that is uncertain. And it takes guts to live here, in the hard space between anticipation and realization.”
—Kate Bowler
A five-time New York Times bestselling author, award-winning podcast host, and Associate Professor of American Religious History at Duke University, Kate Bowler studies the stories we tell ourselves about success, suffering, and whether (or not) we’re capable of change. In a culture obsessed with optimizing happiness, she asks why life can still feel so hard even when we’re doing everything “right.” Drawing on a decade of living with serious illness, her most recent book, the instant national bestseller Joyful, Anyway, offers an honest exploration of how we can loosen our grip on control, stay open to surprise, and find joy even when happiness feels out of reach. Praised by Elizabeth Gilbert as “a deeply moving everyday masterpiece,” Bowler reminds us that joy isn’t something we can manufacture, rather it finds us when life rewrites our scripts.
A gifted storyteller and compelling speaker, Bowler has brought her signature blend of intellect, vulnerability, and humor to audiences at Apple, SXSW, Aspen Ideas, and leading universities and cultural institutions across the globe. Her TED Talk has been viewed more than 10 million times, and she hosts the popular Everything Happens podcast, engaging thinkers, artists, and leaders including Malcolm Gladwell, Anne Lamott, Beth Moore, and the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams in honest and entertaining conversations about grief, joy, faith, love, and the limits we all live with.
“Kate Bowler is the rare author who can explore difficult subjects with both breathtaking honesty and lightheartedness. She brings profound insight and love to the human experience.”
—Gretchen Rubin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Project
After being blindsided by Stage IV cancer at age 35, she penned the New York Times bestselling memoir, Everything Happens for a Reason (and Other Lies I’ve Loved), which tells the story of her struggle to understand the personal and intellectual dimensions of the American belief that all tragedies are tests of character. Praised for its “lovely prose and sharp wit” (Publishers Weekly, starred review), it was hailed as “necessary reading for all of us who long to walk faithfully and honestly through the darkest and most desolate of seasons” (Shauna Niequist, New York Times bestselling author of Present Over Perfect). In her follow up, No Cure For Being Human (and Other Truths I Need to Hear), also a New York Times bestseller, Bowler grapples with her diagnosis, her ambition, and her faith as she tries to come to terms with limitations in a culture that promises anything is possible.
“I fell hard and fast for Kate Bowler. Her writing is naked, elegant, and gripping—she’s like a Christian Joan Didion. I left Kate’s story feeling more present, more grateful, and a hell of a lot less alone. And what else is art for?”
—Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love Warrior
She is also the author of Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel, The Preacher’s Wife: The Precarious Power of Evangelical Women Celebrities, and three bestselling books of spiritual reflections: Good Enough: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection (co-written with Jessica Richie); The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days (co-written with Jessica Richie); and Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day! Daily Meditations for the Ups, Downs, and In-Betweens.
Bowler’s work has received wide-spread media attention from The Today Show, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and NPR. She lives in Durham, North Carolina with her family, and continues to teach do-gooders of all kinds.
Suscribe to her Substack here.
“Time really is a circle; I can see that now. We are trapped between a past we can’t return to and a future that is uncertain. And it takes guts to live here, in the hard space between anticipation and realization.”
—Kate Bowler
A five-time New York Times bestselling author, award-winning podcast host, and Associate Professor of American Religious History at Duke University, Kate Bowler studies the stories we tell ourselves about success, suffering, and whether (or not) we’re capable of change. In a culture obsessed with optimizing happiness, she asks why life can still feel so hard even when we’re doing everything “right.” Drawing on a decade of living with serious illness, her most recent book, the instant national bestseller Joyful, Anyway, offers an honest exploration of how we can loosen our grip on control, stay open to surprise, and find joy even when happiness feels out of reach. Praised by Elizabeth Gilbert as “a deeply moving everyday masterpiece,” Bowler reminds us that joy isn’t something we can manufacture, rather it finds us when life rewrites our scripts.
A gifted storyteller and compelling speaker, Bowler has brought her signature blend of intellect, vulnerability, and humor to audiences at Apple, SXSW, Aspen Ideas, and leading universities and cultural institutions across the globe. Her TED Talk has been viewed more than 10 million times, and she hosts the popular Everything Happens podcast, engaging thinkers, artists, and leaders including Malcolm Gladwell, Anne Lamott, Beth Moore, and the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams in honest and entertaining conversations about grief, joy, faith, love, and the limits we all live with.
“Kate Bowler is the rare author who can explore difficult subjects with both breathtaking honesty and lightheartedness. She brings profound insight and love to the human experience.”
—Gretchen Rubin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Project
After being blindsided by Stage IV cancer at age 35, she penned the New York Times bestselling memoir, Everything Happens for a Reason (and Other Lies I’ve Loved), which tells the story of her struggle to understand the personal and intellectual dimensions of the American belief that all tragedies are tests of character. Praised for its “lovely prose and sharp wit” (Publishers Weekly, starred review), it was hailed as “necessary reading for all of us who long to walk faithfully and honestly through the darkest and most desolate of seasons” (Shauna Niequist, New York Times bestselling author of Present Over Perfect). In her follow up, No Cure For Being Human (and Other Truths I Need to Hear), also a New York Times bestseller, Bowler grapples with her diagnosis, her ambition, and her faith as she tries to come to terms with limitations in a culture that promises anything is possible.
“I fell hard and fast for Kate Bowler. Her writing is naked, elegant, and gripping—she’s like a Christian Joan Didion. I left Kate’s story feeling more present, more grateful, and a hell of a lot less alone. And what else is art for?”
—Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love Warrior
She is also the author of Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel, The Preacher’s Wife: The Precarious Power of Evangelical Women Celebrities, and three bestselling books of spiritual reflections: Good Enough: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection (co-written with Jessica Richie); The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days (co-written with Jessica Richie); and Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day! Daily Meditations for the Ups, Downs, and In-Betweens.
Bowler’s work has received wide-spread media attention from The Today Show, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and NPR. She lives in Durham, North Carolina with her family, and continues to teach do-gooders of all kinds.
Suscribe to her Substack here.
Joy Works: Why Success Needs More Than Striving
In workplaces built on constant achievement, productivity, and “having it all together,” joy can feel trivial—something extra for weekends or vacation days. But research shows the opposite: joy is not a distraction from work, it is fuel for it. Joyful employees are more resilient, more innovative, and more connected. Drawing on her research, personal experience, and stories of unexpected delight, Dr. Kate Bowler shows leaders and teams how to create cultures where joy is not an accident but a practice. With wit and candor, she makes the case that joy, especially in the midst of limits, pressures, and losses, is what makes sustainable success possible. Audiences leave with science-backed insights, practical strategies, and a hopeful reminder: we can build workplaces where people can be human—and joyful—anyway.
Joyful Anyway: Programs for Women & Christian Events
Joyful Anyway: Finding the Surprise and Strength in the Everythingness of Life (Women’s Events)
Women are often told to “have it all together”—to be grateful, productive, cheerful, and strong. But life rarely looks that tidy. Drawing on her research and lived experience, Dr. Kate Bowler shares how joy doesn’t require perfection. With humor and tenderness, she invites women to embrace life’s beautiful imperfections, celebrate small delights, and make room for joy even in the middle of heartbreak, exhaustion, and the ordinary grind. Audiences leave with permission to be “good enough” and to savor the surprising magic of joy right where they are.
Joyful Anyway: A Practice for Life’s Everythingness (Christian Events)
Scripture reminds us to “rejoice always,” but what does that mean when life feels heavy, lonely, or incomplete? Drawing on her research and lived experience, Dr. Kate Bowler explores joy as a spiritual practice that does not deny sorrow but grows alongside it. With stories of surprising grace and her trademark humor, she invites communities to discover how God’s presence meets us in everythingness of life: laughter in grief, beauty in creation, compassion in community. Joy, she reminds us, is not a prize for the lucky but a gift that breaks in—even here, even now.
Kate as a Moderator & Host
Everything Happens LIVE brings Kate Bowler’s beloved podcast to the stage. With humor, honesty, and a gift for drawing out unforgettable stories, Kate hosts live conversations with interesting thought-partners that leave audiences laughing, reflecting, and feeling deeply connected with one another.
Good Enough: Letting Go of the Perfectibility Paragraph
We are told to hustle harder, lean in, manifest our best life, and curate a version of ourselves that is flawless. But the truth is: life is not perfect, and neither are we. In this compassionate and practical lecture, Dr. Kate Bowler invites audiences to reject the myth of constant self-improvement and discover the freedom of being “good enough.” Drawing on her bestselling book Good Enough and her own experiences living with chronic illness, Kate blends humor, history, and honesty to challenge the cultural obsession with perfection. She explores how unrealistic expectations—at work, in relationships, and in faith—leave us exhausted, lonely, and ashamed, and offers a gentler vision of success rooted in connection, joy, and grace. This talk is especially resonant for corporations seeking to address burnout and wellbeing, women’s groups confronting the pressures of “having it all,” and spiritual communities longing for a more humane vision of flourishing. Audiences will leave with practical takeaways and a profound reminder: life is beautiful not because it is perfect, but because it is real.
Everything Happens (And Other Lies I’ve Loved)
When life unravels, people reach for explanations: “God has a plan,” “You must have manifested this,” or “Everything happens for a reason.” But what if those words don’t hold? In this moving and deeply honest lecture, Dr. Kate Bowler explores how people make sense of suffering—through history, theology, culture, and her own story of being diagnosed with Stage IV cancer at age 35. With warmth and wit, Kate traces the origins of these popular spiritual clichés and asks what they reveal about our deepest hopes and fears. Audiences are invited to wrestle with the big questions—Why? God, are you here? What does it mean?—and to discover a gentler, truer way of living with uncertainty. Everything Happens is designed for anyone walking alongside others in moments of vulnerability: healthcare providers, educators, faith leaders, and caregivers. Kate’s lecture offers a rare blend of scholarship and lived wisdom, leaving audiences better equipped to hold space for pain and to glimpse hope, even when the answers remain elusive.
Joyful, Anyway (The Dial Press, 2026)
Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day!: Meditations for the Ups, Downs, and In-Betweens (Harmony/Rodale/Convergent, 2024)
The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days (Convergent Books, 2023)
Good Enough: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection (Harmony/Rodale/Convergent, 2022)
No Cure for Being Human (And Other Truths I Need to Hear) (Penguin, 2021)
The Preacher’s Wife: The Precarious Power of Evangelical Women Celebrities (Princeton University Press, 2020)
Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved (Random House, 2018)
Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel (Oxford University Press, 2013)
Selected Articles
Death, the Prosperity Gospel and Me, The New York Times
We are not divine. But we are loved. That is enough., The Washington Post
With grace, wisdom, and humor, Kate Bowler encourages us to cut back on self-help Kool-Aid and teaches us what it means to be human.
Bowler offers an alternative to the good vibes/prosperity gospel approach: honesty with room for mystery and humor.
Kate Bowler refuses to jump on the bandwagon of toxic positivity. Instead, she leads us to a truer truth: The work is unfinishable, and so be it.
WATCH: Finding joy in life’s messiest moments, The Morning Show
WATCH: Kate Bowler: A Conversation That Will Make You Laugh and Think, You Made It Weird Podcast
WATCH: Not EVERYTHING has a reason, Crisis What Crisis? With Andy Coulson
WATCH: Finding Joy Anyway with Kate Bowler, Holderness Family Laughs
READ: How to find joy during difficult times, The Washington Post
READ: The Daring Interview: Kate Bowler, Brené Brown
READ: Kate Bowler takes on the self-help industrial complex, The Washington Post
READ: How to Live in the Face of Fear: Lessons From a Cancer Survivor, The New York Times
LISTEN: Kate Bowler wants to have more ‘uncounted, completely-wasted, doesn’t-matter time’, Wild Card, NPR
LISTEN: Kate Bowler on the Ache That Makes Us Human—and the Joy That Makes Us Whole, For the Love With Jen Hatmaker Podcast
LISTEN: Kate Bowler Challenges Stoicism’s Most Famous Idea, The Daily Stoic Podcast
LISTEN: The Role of Joy in High-Performance Leadership, The Andy Stanley Podcast
BOOKS
Joyful, Anyway
Kate Bowler is a beacon—she radiates light even when the world seems dark. Her wisdom is perfectly timed for our tumultuous times.
Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Potential and Think Again
No Cure for Being Human (And Other Truths I Need to Hear)
Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved
The Preacher's Wife: The Precarious Power of Evangelical Women Celebrities
Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel
Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day! Meditations for the Ups, Downs, and In-Betweens
The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days
Videos
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